Study Desk

but N'kho sent envoys to him with this message: "Do I have a conflict with you, king of Y'hudah? No, I am not coming today to attack you, but to attack the dynasty with whom I am at war. God has ordered to speed me along; so don't meddle with God, who is with me; so that he won't destroy you."

So his servants took him out of the chariot, transferred him to his second chariot and brought him to Yerushalayim. But he died, and he was buried in the tombs of his ancestors. All Y'hudah and Yerushalayim mourned Yoshiyahu.

But the king of Egypt deposed him in Yerushalayim and imposed a penalty on the land of three-and-a-third tons of silver and sixty-six pounds of gold.

But they ridiculed God's messengers, treating his words with contempt and scoffing at his prophets, until the anger of Adonai rose up against his people to the extent that there was no longer any remedy.

But many of the cohanim, L'vi'im and heads of fathers' clans, the old men who had seen the first house standing on its foundation, wept out loud when they saw this house; while others shouted out loud for joy —

But Z'rubavel, Yeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers' clans in Isra'el answered them, "You and we have nothing in common that you should join us in building a house for our God. We will build by ourselves for Adonai the God of Isra'el, as Koresh king of Persia ordered us to do."

But the eye of their God was on the leaders of the Judeans, so they didn't stop them until the matter could come before Daryavesh and a reply in writing be received.

But because our ancestors provoked the God of heaven, he handed them over to N'vukhadnetzar king of Bavel, the Kasdi; he destroyed this house and carried the people off to Bavel.

But in the first year of Koresh king of Bavel, Koresh the king gave authorization to rebuild this house of God.

I assembled them by the river that runs to Ahava, and we camped there three days. I reviewed the people and the cohanim but found no L'vi'im there.

For I would have been ashamed to ask the king for a detachment of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies along the road, since we had said to the king, "The hand of our God is on all who seek him, for good; but his power and fury is against all who abandon him."

For we are slaves. Yet our God has not abandoned us in our slavery, but has caused the kings of Persia to extend grace to us, reviving us, so that we can rebuild the house of our God, repair its ruins, and have a wall of defense in Y'hudah and Yerushalayim.

"But now, our God, what are we to say after this? For we have abandoned your mitzvot,

Sh'khanyah the son of Yechi'el, one of the descendants of ‘Eilam, spoke up and said to ‘Ezra, "We have acted treacherously toward our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples of the land. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Isra'el.

But there are many people, and it's the rainy season — we can't stay out here in the open. Also, it isn't the work of a day or two; for there are many of us who have committed this crime.

but if you return to me, observe my mitzvot and obey them, then, even if your scattered ones are in the most distant part of heaven, nevertheless, I will collect them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen for bearing my name.'

Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass.

But I answered them: "The God of heaven will enable us to succeed. Therefore we his servants will set about rebuilding. But you have no share, right or history to commemorate in Yerushalayim."

Next to them the men from T'koa made repairs; but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work of their Lord.

Finally, between the upper room at the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and merchants made repairs. But when Sanvalat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious. Greatly enraged, he ridiculed the Judeans; before his kinsmen and the army of Shomron he said, "What are these pathetic Judeans doing? Are they going to rebuild anything they want? Are they going to sacrifice? Are they going to finish today? Are they going to recover useful stones from the piles of rubble, burned rubble at that?" Toviyah the ‘Amoni was with him, and he said, "Whatever they're building, why, if even a fox went up it, he'd knock their stone wall down!" Our God, listen! We are being treated with contempt. Turn back their jeers on their own heads; give them over to be plundered in a land of exile. Don't cover their guilt, don't let their sin be wiped out from before you; because they have insulted the builders to their face. So we kept building the wall, which was soon joined together and completed to half its height all the way around; because the people worked with a will.