Study Desk

To the Levites who taught all Israel and were holy to the LORD he said, "Put the holy ark in the house (temple) which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built; it shall not be a burden [carried] on your shoulders any longer. Now serve the LORD your God and His people Israel.

His officers also contributed a voluntary offering to the people, the priests and the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the officials of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings 2,600 from the flocks [of lambs and young goats], and 300 bulls.

But Neco sent messengers to Josiah, saying, "What business do we have with each other, O King of Judah? I am not coming against you today, but against the house with which I am at war, and God has ordered me to hurry. Stop for your own sake from interfering with God who is with me, so that He will not destroy you."

Yet Josiah would not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to fight against him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to fight against him on the plain of Megiddo.

Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God.

He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God; he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke for the LORD.

He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel.

The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place.

But they kept mocking the messengers of God and despising His words and scoffing at His prophets until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, until there was no remedy or healing.

And as for all the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his officials, he brought them all to Babylon.

Then they burned the house of God and tore down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire, and destroyed all its valuable articles.

"Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up [to Jerusalem]!'"

"Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

'Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is God who is in Jerusalem.

'In any place where a survivor (Jewish exile) may live, let the men (Gentiles) of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with freewill offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.'"

Then the heads of the fathers' households of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites, all those whose spirits God had stirred up, arose to go up and rebuild the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.

Some of the heads of the fathers' households (extended families), when they arrived at the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, made voluntary contributions for the house of God to rebuild it on its [old] foundation.

Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brothers arose, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses, the man of God.

Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers stood united with Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah and the sons of Henadad with their sons and brothers the Levites, to oversee the workmen in the house of God.

Now when [the Samaritans] the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles from the captivity were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel,