1 Esdras 5

1After these things, the heads of ancestral houses, according to their tribes, were chosen to go up, along with their wives and their sons and daughters, and their male servants and female servants, and their livestock.

2And Darius sent with them a thousand horsemen, until they had brought them back to Jerusalem in peace and with music,

3with tambourines and flutes. And all their brothers were playing, and he made them go up with those men.

4And these are the names of the men who were going up according to their ancestral houses, into their tribes, each to his own administrative division.

5The priests, the sons of Phinehas, the sons of Aaron: Jeshua son of Jozadak son of Seraiah, and Joakim son of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, from the house of David, from the family line of Perez,

6and from the tribe of Judah, who spoke wise words to Darius king of the Persians in the second year of his reign, in the month Nisan, the first month.

7These are the ones from Judea who came up from the captivity of the exile, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon,

8And each returned to Jerusalem and the rest of Judea, each to his own city—the ones who had come with Zerubbabel and Jeshua, Nehemiah, Zareiah, Resaiah, Enenius, Mordecai, Beelsarus, Aspharasus, Boroelius, Roimus, and Baanah, their leaders.

9The number of those from the nation, and their leaders: the sons of Phoros, seventy-two thousand.

10the sons of Ares, seven hundred fifty-six.

11The sons of Phath-moab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and two.

12the sons of Iolamus, two; the sons of Zatou, nine hundred seventy; the sons of Chorbe, seven hundred five; the sons of Banei, six hundred forty-eight;

13the sons of Bebai, six hundred thirty-three; the sons of Argai, one thousand three hundred twenty-two.

14the sons of Adonikam, thirty-seven; the sons of Bosai, two thousand six hundred six; the sons of Adilion, four hundred fifty-four;

15The sons of Azeir Ezekias, the sons of Keilan and Azetas, sixty-seven; the sons of Azaros, four hundred thirty-two.

16the sons of Anneis, one hundred one; the sons of Arom, the sons of Bassai, three hundred twenty-three; the sons of Arseiphoureith,

17the sons of Baiterous, three thousand five; the sons of Ragethlomon, one hundred twenty-three;

18those from Netebas, fifty-five; those from Enatos, one hundred fifty-eight; those from Baitasmon Zamoth.

19those from Kartatheireios, twenty-five; those from Peiras and Berog, seven hundred.

20the sons of Chadiasai and Ammidioi, four hundred twenty-two; the sons of Keiramas Kabbes, six hundred twenty-one;

21those from Makalon, one hundred twenty-two; those from Betolio, fifty-two; Neipheis, one hundred fifty-six.

22the sons of Kalamokalos and Onous, seven hundred twenty-five; the sons of Jericho, two hundred forty-five;

23the sons of Sama, three thousand three hundred and one.

24The priests: the sons of Jeddus, the son of Jeshua, of the sons of Sanabeis, eight hundred seventy-two; the sons of Emerus, two hundred fifty-two.

25the sons of Phassor, 1,247.

26The Levites: the sons of Jesueis, Koddelou, Bannou, and Soudiou, seventy-four.

27the sons of the temple singers, the sons of Asaph, one hundred twenty-eight.

28the gatekeepers, four hundred; the sons of Ishmael, sons of Lakubath, one thousand.

29the sons of Tobeis, altogether one hundred thirty-nine; the temple servants: the sons of Esau, the sons of Taseipha, the sons of Tabaoth, the sons of Keras, the sons of Soua, the sons of Phalaiou, the sons of Labana,

30the sons of Akoud, the sons of Outa, the sons of Ketab, the sons of Akkaba, the sons of Sybaei, the sons of Anan, the sons of Koua, the sons of Keddour,

31the sons of Iaeir, the sons of Daisan, the sons of Noeba, the sons of Chaseba, the sons of Kazera, the sons of Ozeiou, the sons of Phinoe, the sons of Asara, the sons of Basthai, the sons of Assana, the sons of Manei, the sons of Napheisei, the sons of Akouph, the sons of Acheiba, the sons of Asour, the sons of Pharakem,

32the sons of Dedda, the sons of Bachous, the sons of Serar, the sons of Thomthei, the sons of Nasei, the sons of Hatepha.

33the sons of Solomon’s servants, the sons of Assapheioth, the sons of Phaerida, the sons of Jeelei, the sons of Lozon, the sons of Isdael, the sons of Saphuei,

34the sons of Hagia, the sons of Phacareth-sabeie, the sons of Sarothei, the sons of Meisaias, the sons of Gas, the sons of Addous, the sons of Soubas, the sons of Apherra, the sons of Barotheis, the sons of Saphag, the sons of Allon;

35All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants: three hundred seventy-two.

36These were the ones who came up from Thermeleth and Thelersas, with Charaathalan and Allar leading them.

37And they were not able to declare their families and lineage, that they were from Israel: the sons of Asan son of Baenan, the sons of Nekodan, six hundred fifty-two.

38And from the priests, those who claimed the priesthood, but were not found: the sons of Obbeia, the sons of Akbos, the sons of Iaddous, who had taken Augia as a wife from the daughters of Phaexeldai,

39and he was called by his name. And from these, those who were searched for in the genealogical record in the enrollment, and were not found, were excluded from serving as priests.

40And Nehemiah and Atharias told them not to partake of the holy things until a priest should arise clothed with the Manifestation and the Truth.

41All these were Israelites, from twelve years old and upward, apart from male and female servants: forty-two thousand three hundred sixty. Their male and female servants were seven thousand three hundred thirty-seven; and the singers and songstresses were two hundred forty-five.

42camels four hundred thirty-five, and horses seven thousand thirty-six, mules two hundred forty-five, pack animals five thousand five hundred twenty-five.

43And some of the heads of families, when they arrived at the temple of God in Jerusalem, pledged to raise up the house on its site, according to their ability,

44and to give to the holy treasury for the works one thousand minas of gold, and five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priestly garments.

45And the priests and the Levites and some of the people settled in Jerusalem and the region, and the temple singers and the gatekeepers, and all Israel in their villages.

46When the seventh month had come, and the sons of Israel were each in their own places, they gathered with one accord in the open area of the first gate on the east.

47Then Jeshua son of Jozadak arose, along with his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his brothers, and they prepared the altar of the God of Israel,

48to offer burnt offerings on it, according to what is prescribed in the book of Moses, the man of God.

49And they gathered themselves to them from the other nations of the land, and they were strengthened at the altar in its place; for they were in hostility toward them. All the nations on the land prevailed against them, and they offered sacrifices at the appointed time, and whole burnt offerings to the Lord, morning and evening.

50And they kept the Feast of Booths, as it is commanded in the law, and offered sacrifices day by day, as was fitting.

51And after these, the regular offerings, and the sacrifices for Sabbaths and new moons and all the consecrated feasts.

52And all who had vowed a vow to God began, from the new moon of the first month, to offer sacrifices to God, though the temple of God had not yet been built.

53And they gave silver to the stonecutters and carpenters, and drink and food and provisions to the Sidonians and Tyrians, to bring cedar logs from Lebanon, transporting them by rafts to the harbor of Joppa, according to the written decree given to them by Cyrus king of the Persians.

54And in the second year, when they had come to the house of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak began, along with their brothers, the priests, the Levites, and all who had come from the captivity to Jerusalem,

55And they laid the foundation of the temple of God on the new moon of the second month, in the second year after they had come into Judea and Jerusalem.

56And they appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, over the works of the Lord. Then Jeshua stood with his sons and brothers, and Kadmiel his brother, and the sons of Jeshua son of Henadad, and the sons of Judah son of Eliadun, together with their sons and brothers—all the Levites, united as supervisors of the work, carrying on the works in the house of the Lord. And the builders built the temple of the Lord.

57And the priests stood arrayed with musicians and trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, had the cymbals, praising the Lord and blessing him according to David king of Israel;

58And they cried out with hymns, blessing the Lord, because his goodness and his glory are forever for all Israel.

59And all the people sounded trumpets and shouted with a loud voice, praising the Lord because of the raising up of the house of the Lord.

60And from the priests, the Levites, and the heads of their ancestral houses came the elders who had seen the former house, and at the building of this one they cried out with a loud cry and great weeping,

61and many with trumpets, and great joy with the voice;

62so that the people could not hear the trumpets because of the weeping of the people; for the crowd was sounding them loudly, so that it was heard from far away.

63And when the enemies of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin heard, they came to find out what the sound of the trumpets was,

64And they recognized that those from the captivity were building the temple for the Lord God of Israel.

65And coming to Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the heads of the fathers’ houses, they said to them, “We will build with you.”

66For we also, like you, listen to your Lord, and we will sacrifice to him from the days of Asbakaphath king of the Assyrians, who brought us here.

67Then Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “It is not for you to build the house for the Lord our God.”

68For we alone will build for the Lord of Israel, in accordance with what Cyrus king of the Persians commanded us.

69But the nations of the land, joining themselves to those in Judea and besieging them, hindered the building of the house.

70And by plots and by stirring up the crowds and by forming factions, they hindered the building from being completed all the time of the life of King Cyrus; and the building was halted for two years, until the reign of Darius.

145And Jeshua son of Josedec arose, with his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel son of Salathiel, with his brothers, and they prepared the altar of the God of Israel,