Study Desk

But Neco sent men to him, saying, "What have we to do 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 told me to hurry. Do not stand in the way of God Who is with me, or He will destroy you."

But Josiah would not turn away from him. He made himself to look like someone else, so he could fight against him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to make war on the Plain of Megiddo.

The king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Eliakim's brother Joahaz and brought him to Egypt.

But the people always made fun of the men sent by God. They hated God's words and laughed at His men who spoke for God, until the Lord was very angry with His people. And there was no way for things to be better.

Now these are the men who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer. But they were not able to show that their fathers and they were children of Israel:

These men looked for their names among the names of all the families, but could not find them. So they were thought of as being unclean, and were not allowed to work as religious leaders.

From the first day of the seventh month they began to give burnt gifts to the Lord. But the house of the Lord had not begun to be built.

But many of the religious leaders and Levites and heads of the family groups were old men who had seen the first house of the Lord. And they cried with a loud voice when the work of this house was begun in front of their eyes. But many called out for joy in a loud voice.

But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the family groups of Israel said to them, "You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God. But we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus of Persia has told us to do."

But the eye of their God was on the leaders of the Jews. They did not stop them until a letter was sent to Darius about it, and a written answer received from him.

But because our fathers had made the God of heaven angry, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed this house of God, and carried the people away to Babylon.

But in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus told us to build again this house of God.

Nebuchadnezzar had taken the gold and silver objects of the house of God from the house in Jerusalem, and brought them to the house of worship at Babylon. But King Cyrus took them from the house of worship at Babylon and they were given to Sheshbazzar, whom he had chosen as leader over the land.

For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to keep us safe from those who hate us on the way, because we had said to the king, "The hand of our God brings good to all who look for Him. But His power and His anger are against all who turn away from Him."

But now for a short time loving-favor has been shown to us from the Lord our God. He has kept some of us alive to return to get a hold on His holy place, that our God may give light to our eyes, and give us some new life while we are under the power of Persia.

For we are servants, but our God has not left us even while we are servants of another nation. He has shown us loving-kindness in the eyes of the kings of Persia. He has given us new life to set up the house of our God, to build again its parts that have been destroyed, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra, "We have not been faithful to our God. We have married strange women from the people of the land. But even so, there is hope for Israel.

Get up, for this is your duty, but we will be with you. Have strength of heart and do it."

Then Ezra got up from before the house of God and went into the room of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. He went there, but he did not eat bread or drink water, for he was filled with sorrow because the people who returned had not been faithful to God.

But there are many people, and there is much rain. We cannot stand in the open. This cannot be done in one or two days, for we have sinned very much.