Cyrus Commands the Jews to Return 1 In the first year that Cyrus of Persia was emperor,the Lord made what he had said through the prophet Jeremiah come true. He…

The List of Those Who Returned from Exile 1 Many of the exiles left the province of Babylon and returned to Jerusalem and Judah, all to their own hometowns. Their…

Worship Begins Again 1 By the seventh month the people of Israel were all settled in their towns. Then they all assembled in Jerusalem, 2 and Joshua son of Jehozadak,…

Opposition to the Rebuilding of the Temple 1 The enemies of the people of Judah and Benjamin heard that those who had returned from exile were rebuilding the Temple of…

1 At that time two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo, began to speak in the name of the God of Israel to the Jews who lived in Judah…

Emperor Cyrus’ Order Is Rediscovered 1 So Emperor Darius issued orders for a search to be made in the royal records that were kept in Babylon. 2 But it was…

Ezra Arrives in Jerusalem 1 Many years later, when Artaxerxes was emperor of Persia, there was a man named Ezra. He traced his ancestors back to Aaron, the High Priest,…

The People Who Returned from Exile 1 This is the list of the heads of the clans who had been in exile in Babylonia and who returned with Ezra to…

Ezra Learns of Intermarriages with Non-Jews 1 After all this had been done, some of the leaders of the people of Israel came and told me that the people, the…

The Plan for Ending Mixed Marriages 1 While Ezra was bowing in prayer in front of the Temple, weeping and confessing these sins, a large group of Israelites—men, women, and…