This Book taketh its name from the writer: who was a holy
priest, and doctor of the law. He is called by the Hebrews,
Ezra.
1 Esdras Chapter 1
Cyrus king of Persia releaseth God's people from their
captivity, with license to return and build the temple in
Jerusalem: and restoreth the holy vessels which
Nabuchodonosor had taken from thence.
1:1. In the first year of Cyrus king of the Persians, that
the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremias might be
fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of
the Persians: and he made a proclamation throughout all his
kingdom, and in writing also, saying:
1:2. Thus saith Cyrus king of the Persians: The Lord the
God of heaven hath given to me all the kingdoms of the
earth, and he hath charged me to build him a house in
Jerusalem, which is in Judea.
1:3. Who is there among you of all his people? His God be
with him. Let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judea,
and build the house of the Lord the God of Israel: he is
the God that is in Jerusalem.
1:4. And let all the rest in all places wheresoever they
dwell, help him every man from his place, with silver and
gold, and goods, and cattle, besides that which they offer
freely to the temple of God, which is in Jerusalem.
1:5. Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Juda and
Benjamin, and the priests, and Levites, and every one whose
spirit God had raised up, to go up to build the temple of
the Lord, which was in Jerusalem.
1:6. And all they that were round about, helped their hands
with vessels of silver, and gold, with goods, and with
beasts, and with furniture, besides what they had offered
on their own accord.
1:7. And king Cyrus brought forth vessels of the temple of
the Lord, which Nabuchodonosor had taken from Jerusalem,
and had put them in the temple of his god.
1:8. Now Cyrus king of Persia brought them forth by the
hand of Mithridates the son of Gazabar, and numbered them
to Sassabasar the prince of Juda.
1:9. And this is the number of them: thirty bowls of gold,
a thousand bowls of silver, nine and twenty knives, thirty
cups of gold,
1:10. Silver cups of a second sort, four hundred and ten:
other vessels a thousand.
1:11. All the vessels of gold and silver, five thousand
four hundred: all these Sassabasar brought with them that
came up from the captivity of Babylon to Jerusalem.
1 Esdras Chapter 2
The number of them that returned to Judea: their oblations.
2:1. Now these are the children of the province, that went
out of the captivity, which Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon
had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem
and Juda, every man to his city.
2:2. Who came with Zorobabel, Josue, Nehemia, Saraia,
Rahelaia, Mardochai, Belsan, Mesphar, Beguai, Rehum, Baana.
The number of the men of the people of Israel:
2:3. The children of Pharos two thousand one hundred
seventy-two.
2:4. The children of Sephatia, three hundred seventy-two.
2:5. The children of Area, seven hundred seventy-five.
2:6. The children of Phahath Moab, of the children of
Josue: Joab, Two thousand eight hundred twelve.
2:7. The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred
fifty-four.
2:8. The children of Zethua, nine hundred forty-five.
2:9. The children of Zachai, seven hundred sixty.
2:10. The children of Bani, six hundred forty-two.
2:11. The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty-three.
2:12. The children of Azgad, a thousand two hundred
twenty-two.
2:13. The children of Adonicam, six hundred sixty-six.
2:14. The children of Beguai, two thousand fifty-six.
2:15. The children of Adin, four hundred fifty-four.
2:16. The children of Ather, who were of Ezechias,
ninety-eight.
2:17. The children of Besai, three hundred and
twenty-three.
2:18. The children of Jora, a hundred and twelve.
2:19. The children of Hasum, two hundred twenty-three.
2:20. The children of Gebbar, ninety-five.
2:21. The children of Bethlehem, a hundred twenty-three.
2:22. The men of Netupha, fifty-six.
2:23. The men of Anathoth, a hundred twenty-eight.
2:24. The children of Azmaveth, forty-two.
2:25. The children of Cariathiarim, Cephira, and Beroth,
seven hundred forty-three.
2:26. The children of Rama and Gabaa, six hundred
twenty-one.
2:27. The men of Machmas, a hundred twenty-two.
2:28. The men of Bethel and Hai, two hundred twenty-three.
2:29. The children of Nebo, fifty-two.
2:30. The children of Megbis, a hundred fifty-six.
2:31. The children of the other Elam, a thousand two
hundred fifty-five.
2:32. The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty.
2:33. The children of Lod, Hadid and Ono, seven hundred
twenty-five.
2:34. The children of Jericho, three hundred forty-five.
2:35. The children of Senaa, three thousand six hundred
thirty.
2:36. The priests: the children of Jadaia of the house of
Josue, nine hundred seventy-three.
2:37. The children of Emmer, a thousand fifty-two.
2:38. The children of Pheshur, a thousand two hundred
forty-seven.
2:39. The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.
2:40. The Levites: the children of Josue and of Cedmihel,
the children of Odovia, seventy-four.
2:41. The singing men: the children of Asaph, a hundred
twenty-eight.
2:42. The children of the porters: the children of Sellum,
the children of Ater, the children of Telmon, the children
of Accub, the children of Hatita, the children of Sobai: in
all a hundred thirty-nine.
2:43. The Nathinites: the children of Siha, the children of
Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth,
2:44. The children of Ceros, the children of Sia, the
children of Phadon,
2:45. The children of Lebana, the children of Hegaba, the
children of Accub,
2:46. The children of Hagab, the children of Semlai, the
children of Hanan,
2:47. The children of Gaddel, the children of Gaher, the
children of Raaia,
2:48. The children of Rasin, the children of Necoda, the
children of Gazam,
2:49. The children of Asa, the children of Phasea, the
children of Besee,
2:50. The children of Asena, the children of Munim, the
children of Nephusim,
2:51. The children of Bacbuc, the children of Hacupha, the
children of Harhur,
2:52. The children of Besluth, the children of Mahida, the
children of Harsa,
2:53. The children of Bercos, the children of Sisara, the
children of Thema,
2:54. The children of Nasia, the children of Hatipha,
2:55. The children of the servants of Solomon, the children
of Sotai, the children of Sopheret, the children of
Pharuda,
2:56. The children of Jala, the children of Dercon, the
children of Geddel,
2:57. The children of Saphatia, the children of Hatil, the
children of Phochereth, which were of Asebaim, the children
of Ami,
2:58. All the Nathinites, and the children of the servants
of Solomon, three hundred ninety-two.
2:59. And these are they that came up from Thelmela,
Thelharsa, Cherub, and Adon, and Emer. And they could not
shew the house of their fathers and their seed, whether
they were of Israel.
2:60. The children of Dalaia, the children of Tobia, the
children of Necoda, six hundred fifty-two.
2:61. And of the children of the priests: the children of
Hobia, the children of Accos, the children of Berzellai,
who took a wife of the daughters of Berzellai, the
Galaadite, and was called by their name:
2:62. These sought the writing of their genealogy, and
found it not, and they were cast out of the priesthood.
2:63. And Athersatha said to them, that they should not eat
of the holy of holies, till there arose a priest learned
and perfect.
2:64. All the multitudes as one man, were forty-two
thousand three hundred and sixty:
Forty-two thousand, etc... Those who are reckoned up above
of the tribes of Juda, Benjamin, and Levi, fall short of
this number. The rest, who must be taken in to make up
the whole sum, were of the other tribes.
2:65. Besides their menservants, and womenservants, of whom
there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven:
and among them singing men, and singing women two hundred.
2:66. Their horses seven hundred thirty-six, their mules
two hundred forty-five,
2:67. Their camels four hundred thirty-five, their asses
six thousand seven hundred and twenty.
2:68. And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came
to the temple of the Lord, which is in Jerusalem, offered
freely to the house of the Lord to build it in its place.
2:69. According to their ability, they gave towards the
expenses of the work, sixty-one thousand solids of gold,
five thousand pounds of silver, and a hundred garments for
the priests.
2:70. So the priests and the Levites, and some of the
people, and the singing men, and the porters, and the
Nathinites dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their
cities.
1 Esdras Chapter 3
An altar is built for sacrifice, the feast of tabernacles
is solemnly celebrated, and the foundations of the temple
are laid.
3:1. And now the seventh month was come, and the children
of Israel were in their cities: and the people gathered
themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.
3:2. And Josue the son of Josedec rose up, and his brethren
the priests, and Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, and his
brethren, and they built the altar of the God of Israel
that they might offer holocausts upon it, as it is written
in the law of Moses the man of God.
Josue... or Jesus (Jeshua) the son of Josedec; he was the
high priest, at that time.
3:3. And they set the altar of God upon its bases, while
the people of the lands round about put them in fear, and
they offered upon it a holocaust to the Lord morning and
evening.
3:4. And they kept the feast of tabernacles, as it is
written, and offered the holocaust every day orderly
according to the commandment, the duty of the day in its
day.
3:5. And afterwards the continual holocaust, both on the
new moons, and on all the solemnities of the Lord, that
were consecrated, and on all in which a freewill offering
was made to the Lord.
3:6. From the first day of the seventh month they began to
offer holocausts to the Lord: but the temple of God was not
yet founded.
3:7. And they gave money to hewers of stones and to masons:
and meat and drink, and oil to the Sidonians and Tyrians,
to bring cedar trees from Libanus to the sea of Joppe,
according to the orders which Cyrus king of the Persians
had given them.
3:8. And in the second year of their coming to the temple
of God in Jerusalem, the second month, Zorobabel the son of
Salathiel, and Josue the son of Josedec, and the rest of
their brethren the priests, and the Levites, and all that
were come from the captivity to Jerusalem began, and they
appointed Levites from twenty years old and upward, to
hasten forward the work of the Lord.
3:9. Then Josue and his sons and his brethren, Cedmihel,
and his sons, and the children of Juda, as one man, stood
to hasten them that did the work in the temple of God: the
sons of Henadad, and their sons, and their brethren the
Levites.
3:10. And when the masons laid the foundations of the
temple of the Lord, the priests stood in their ornaments
with trumpets: and the Levites the sons of Asaph with
cymbals, to praise God by the hands of David king of
Israel.
3:11. And they sung together hymns, and praise to the Lord:
because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever towards
Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout,
praising the Lord, because the foundations of the temple of
the Lord were laid.
3:12. But many of the priests and the Levites, and the
chief of the fathers and the ancients that had seen the
former temple; when they had the foundation of this temple
before their eyes, wept with a loud voice: and many
shouting for joy, lifted up their voice.
3:13. So that one could not distinguish the voice of the
shout of joy, from the noise of the weeping of the people:
for one with another the people shouted with a loud shout,
and the voice was heard afar off.
1 Esdras Chapter 4
The Samaritans by their letter to the king hinder the
building.
4:1. Now the enemies of Juda and Benjamin heard that the
children of the captivity were building a temple to the
Lord the God of Israel.
4:2. And they came to Zorobabel, and the chief of the
fathers, and said to them: Let us build with you, for we
seek your God as ye do: behold we have sacrificed to him,
since the days of Asor Haddan king of Assyria, who brought
us hither.
4:3. But Zorobabel, and Josue, and the rest of the chief of
the fathers of Israel said to them: You have nothing to do
with us to build a house to our God, but we ourselves alone
will build to the Lord our God, as Cyrus king of the
Persians hath commanded us.
4:4. Then the people of the land hindered the hands of the
people of Juda, and troubled them in building.
4:5. And they hired counsellors against them, to frustrate
their design all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even
until the reign of Darius king of the Persians.
4:6. And in the reign of Assuerus, in the beginning of his
reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of
Juda and Jerusalem.
Assuerus... Otherwise called Cambyses the son and
successor of Cyrus. He is also in the following verse
named Artaxerxes, a name common to almost all the kings
of Persia.
4:7. And in the days of Artaxerxes, Beselam, Mithridates,
and Thabeel, and the rest that were in the council wrote to
Artaxerxes king of the Persians: and the letter of
accusation was written in Syrian, and was read in the
Syrian tongue.
4:8. Reum Beelteem, and Samsai the scribe wrote a letter
from Jerusalem to king Artaxerxes, in this manner:
4:9. Reum Beelteem, and Samsai the scribe and the rest of
their counsellors, the Dinites, and the Apharsathacites,
the Therphalites, the Apharsites, the Erchuites, the
Babylonians, the Susanechites, the Dievites, and the
Elamites,
4:10. And the rest of the nations, whom the great and
glorious Asenaphar brought over: and made to dwell in the
cities of Samaria and in the rest of the countries of this
side of the river in peace.
4:11. (This is the copy of the letter, which they sent to
him:) To Artaxerxes the king, thy servants, the men that
are on this side of the river, send greeting.
4:12. Be it known to the king, that the Jews, who came up
from thee to us, are come to Jerusalem a rebellious and
wicked city, which they are building, setting up the
ramparts thereof and repairing the walls.
4:13. And now be it known to the king, that if this city be
built up, and the walls thereof repaired, they will not pay
tribute nor toll, nor yearly revenues, and this loss will
fall upon the kings.
4:14. But we remembering the salt that we have eaten in the
palace, and because we count it a crime to see the king
wronged, have therefore sent and certified the king,
4:15. That search may be made in the books of the histories
of thy fathers, and thou shalt find written in the records:
and shalt know that this city is a rebellious city, and
hurtful to the kings and provinces, and that wars were
raised therein of old time: for which cause also the city
was destroyed.
4:16. We certify the king, that if this city be built, and
the walls thereof repaired, thou shalt have no possession
on this side of the river.
4:17. The king sent word to Reum Beelteem and Samsai the
scribe, and to the rest that were in their council,
inhabitants of Samaria, and to the rest beyond the river,
sending greeting and peace.
4:18. The accusation, which you have sent to us, hath been
plainly read before me,
4:19. And I commanded: and search hath been made, and it is
found, that this city of old time hath rebelled against
kings, and seditions and wars have been raised therein.
4:20. For there have been powerful kings in Jerusalem, who
have had dominion over all the country that is beyond the
river: and have received tribute, and toll and revenues.
4:21. Now therefore hear the sentence: Hinder those men,
that this city be not built, till further orders be given
by me.
4:22. See that you be not negligent in executing this, lest
by little and little the evil grow to the hurt of the
kings.
4:23. Now the copy of the edict of king Artaxerxes was read
before Reum Beelteem, and Samsai the scribe, and their
counsellors: and they went up in haste to Jerusalem to the
Jews, and hindered them with arm and power.
4:24. Then the work of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem
was interrupted, and ceased till the second year of the
reign of Darius king of the Persians.
1 Esdras Chapter 5
By the exhortation of Aggeus, and Zacharias, the people
proceed in building the temple. Which their enemies strive
in vain to hinder.
5:1. Now Aggeus the prophet, and Zacharias the son of Addo,
prophesied to the Jews that were in Judea and Jerusalem, in
the name of the God of Israel.
5:2. Then rose up Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, and Josue
the son of Josedec, and began to build the temple of God in
Jerusalem, and with them were the prophets of God helping
them.
5:3. And at the same time came to them Thathanai, who was
governor beyond the river, and Stharbuzanai, and their
counsellors: and said thus to them: Who hath given you
counsel to build this house, and to repair the walls
thereof?
5:4. In answer to which we gave them the names of the men
who were the promoters of that building.
5:5. But the eye of their God was upon the ancients of the
Jews, and they could not hinder them. And it was agreed
that the matter should be referred to Darius, and then they
should give satisfaction concerning that accusation.
5:6. The copy of the letter that Thathanai governor of the
country beyond the river, and Stharbuzanai, and his
counsellors the Arphasachites, who dwelt beyond the river,
sent to Darius the king.
5:7. The letter which they sent him, was written thus: To
Darius the king all peace.
5:8. Be it known to the king, that we went to the province
of Judea, to the house of the great God, which they are
building with unpolished stones, and timber is laid in the
walls: and this work is carried on diligently and advanceth
in their hands.
5:9. And we asked those ancients, and said to them thus:
Who hath given you authority to build this house, and to
repair these walls?
5:10. We asked also of them their names,that we might give
thee notice: and we have written the names of the men that
are the chief among them.
5:11. And they answered us in these words, saying: We are
the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are
building a temple that was built these many years ago, and
which a great king of Israel built and set up.
5:12. But after that our fathers had provoked the God of
heaven to wrath, he delivered them into the hands of
Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon the Chaldean: and he
destroyed this house, and carried away the people to
Babylon.
5:13. But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon,
king Cyrus set forth a decree, that this house of God
should be built.
5:14. And the vessels also of gold and silver of the temple
of God, which Nabuchodonosor had taken out of the temple,
that was in Jerusalem, and had brought them to the temple
of Babylon, king Cyrus brought out of the temple of
Babylon, and they were delivered to one Sassabasar, whom
also he appointed governor,
5:15. And said to him: Take these vessels, and go, and put
them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house
of God be built in its place.
5:16. Then came this same Sassabasar, and laid the
foundations of the temple of God in Jerusalem, and from
that time until now it is in building, and is not yet
finished.
5:17. Now therefore if it seem good to the king, let him
search in the king's library, which is in Babylon, whether
it hath been decreed by Cyrus the king, that the house of
God in Jerusalem should be built, and let the king send his
pleasure to us concerning this matter.
1 Esdras Chapter 6
King Darius favoureth the building and contributeth to it.
6:1. Then king Darius gave orders, and they searched in the
library of the books that were laid up in Babylon,
6:2. And there was found in Ecbatana, which is a castle in
the province of Media, a book in which this record was
written.
6:3. In the first year of Cyrus the king: Cyrus the king
decreed, that the house of God should be built, which is in
Jerusalem, in the place where they may offer sacrifices,
and that they lay the foundations that may support the
height of threescore cubits, and the breadth of threescore
cubits,
6:4. Three rows of unpolished stones, and so rows of new
timber: and the charges shall be given out of the king's
house.
6:5. And also let the golden and silver vessels of the
temple of God, which Nabuchodonosor took out of the temple
of Jerusalem, and brought to Babylon, be restored, and
carried back to the temple of Jerusalem to their place,
which also were placed in the temple of God.
6:6. Now therefore Thathanai, governor of the country
beyond the river, Stharbuzanai, and your counsellors the
Apharsachites, who are beyond the river, depart far from
them,
6:7. And let that temple of God be built by the governor of
the Jews, and by their ancients, that they may build that
house of God in its place.
6:8. I also have commanded what must be done by those
ancients of the Jews, that the house of God may be built,
to wit, that of the king's chest, that is, of the tribute
that is paid out of the country beyond the river, the
charges be diligently given to those men, lest the work be
hindered.
6:9. And if it shall be necessary, let calves also, and
lambs, and kids, for holocausts to the God of heaven,
wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the custom of the
priests that are in Jerusalem, be given them day by day,
that there be no complaint in any thing.
6:10. And let them offer oblations to the God of heaven,
and pray for the life of the king, and of his children.
6:11. And I have made a decree: That if any whosoever,
shall alter this commandment, a beam be taken from his
house, and set up, and he be nailed upon it, and his house
be confiscated.
6:12. And may the God, that hath caused his name to dwell
there, destroy all kingdoms, and the people that shall put
out their hand to resist, and to destroy the house of God,
that is in Jerusalem. I Darius have made the decree, which
I will have diligently complied with.
6:13. So then Thathanai, governor of the country beyond the
river, and Stharbuzanai, and his counsellors diligently
executed what Darius the king had commanded.
6:14. And the ancients of the Jews built, and prospered
according to the prophecy of Aggeus the prophet, and of
Zacharias the son of Addo: and they built and finished, by
the commandment of the God of Israel, and by the
commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes kings of
the Persians.
6:15. And they were finishing this house of God, until the
third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year
of the reign of king Darius.
6:16. And the children of Israel, the priests and the
Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity kept
the dedication of the house of God with joy.
6:17. And they offered at the dedication of the house of
God, a hundred calves, two hundred rams, four hundred
lambs, and for a sin offering for all Israel twelve he
goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.
6:18. And they set the priests in their divisions, and the
Levites in their courses over the works of God in
Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.
6:19. And the children of Israel of the captivity kept the
phase, on the fourteenth day of the first month.
6:20. For all the priests and the Levites were purified as
one man: all were clean to kill the phase for all the
children of the captivity, and for their brethren the
priests, and themselves.
6:21. And the children of Israel that were returned from
captivity, and all that had separated themselves from the
filthiness of the nations of the earth to them, to seek the
Lord the God of Israel, did eat.
6:22. And they kept the feast of unleavened bread seven
days with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful, and had
turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, that he
should help their hands in the work of the house of the
Lord the God of Israel.
1 Esdras Chapter 7
Esdras goeth up to Jerusalem to teach, and assist the
people, with a gracious decree of Artaxerxes.
7:1. Now after these things in the reign of Artaxerxes king
of the Persians, Esdras the son of Saraias, the son of
Azarias, the son of Helcias,
7:2. The son of Sellum, the son of Sadoc, the son of
Achitob,
7:3. The son of Amarias, the son of Azarias, the son of
Maraioth,
7:4. The son of Zarahias, the son of Ozi, the son of Bocci,
7:5. The son of Abisue, the son of Phinees, the son of
Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest from the beginning.
7:6. This Esdras went up from Babylon, and he was a ready
scribe in the law of Moses, which the Lord God had given to
Israel: and the king granted him all his request, according
to the hand of the Lord his God upon him.
7:7. And there went up some of the children of Israel, and
of the children of the priests, and of the children of the
Levites, and of the singing men, and of the porters, and of
the Nathinites to Jerusalem in the seventh year of
Artaxerxes the king.
7:8. And they came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, in the
seventh year of the king.
7:9. For upon the first day of the first month he began to
go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month
he came to Jerusalem according to the good hand of his God
upon him.
7:10. For Esdras had prepared his heart to seek the law of
the Lord, and to do and to teach in Israel the commandments
and judgment.
7:11. And this is the copy of the letter of the edict,
which king Artaxerxes gave to Esdras the priest, the scribe
instructed in the words and commandments of the Lord, and
his ceremonies in Israel.
7:12. Artaxerxes king of kings to Esdras the priest, the
most learned scribe of the law of the God of heaven,
greeting.
7:13. It is decreed by me, that all they of the people of
Israel, and of the priests and of the Levites in my realm,
that are minded to go into Jerusalem, should go with thee.
7:14. For thou art sent from before the king, and his seven
counsellors, to visit Judea and Jerusalem according to the
law of thy God, which is in thy hand.
7:15. And to carry the silver and gold, which the king and
his counsellors have freely offered to the God of Israel,
whose tabernacle is in Jerusalem.
7:16. And all the silver and gold that thou shalt find in
all the province of Babylon, and that the people is willing
to offer, and that the priests shall offer of their own
accord to the house of their God, which is in Jerusalem,
7:17. Take freely, and buy diligently with this money,
calves, rams, lambs, with the sacrifices and libations of
them, and offer them upon the altar of the temple of your
God, that is in Jerusalem.
7:18. And if it seem good to thee, and to thy brethren to
do any thing with the rest of the silver and gold, do it
according to the will of your God.
7:19. The vessels also, that are given thee for the
sacrifice of the house of thy God, deliver thou in the
sight of God in Jerusalem.
7:20. And whatsoever more there shall be need of for the
house of thy God, how much soever thou shalt have occasion
to spend, it shall be given out of the treasury, and the
king's exchequer, and by me.
7:21. I Artaxerxes the king have ordered and decreed to all
the keepers of the public chest, that are beyond the river,
that whatsoever Esdras the priest, the scribe of the law of
the God of heaven, shall require of you, you give it
without delay,
7:22. Unto a hundred talents of silver, and unto a hundred
cores of wheat, and unto a hundred bates of wine, and unto
a hundred bates of oil, and salt without measure.
7:23. All that belongeth to the rites of the God of heaven,
let it be given diligently in the house of the God of
heaven: lest his wrath should be enkindled against the
realm of the king, and of his sons.
7:24. We give you also to understand concerning all the
priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters,
and the Nathinites, and ministers of the house of this God,
that you have no authority to impose toll or tribute, or
custom upon them.
7:25. And thou Esdras according to the wisdom of thy God,
which is in thy hand, appoint judges and magistrates, that
may judge all the people, that is beyond the river, that
is, for them who know the law of thy God, yea and the
ignorant teach ye freely.
7:26. And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the
law of the king diligently, judgment shall be executed upon
him, either unto death, or unto banishment, or to the
confiscation of goods, or at least to prison.
7:27. Blessed be the Lord the God of our fathers, who hath
put this in the king's heart, to glorify the house of the
Lord, which is in Jerusalem,
7:28. And hath inclined his mercy toward me before the king
and his counsellors, and all the mighty princes of the
king: and I being strengthened by the hand of the Lord my
God, which was upon me, gathered together out of Israel
chief men to go up with me.
1 Esdras Chapter 8
The companions of Esdras. The fast which he appointed. They
bring the holy vessels into the temple.
8:1. Now these are the chief of families, and the genealogy
of them, who came up with me from Babylon in the reign of
Artaxerxes the king.
8:2. Of the sons of Phinees, Gersom. Of the sons of
Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, Hattus.
8:3. Of the sons of Sechenias, the son of Pharos,
Zacharias, and with him were numbered a hundred and fifty
men.
8:4. Of the sons of Phahath Moab, Eleoenai the son of
Zareha, and with him two hundred men.
8:5. Of the sons of Sechenias, the son of Ezechiel, and
with him three hundred men.
8:6. Of the sons of Adan, Abed the son of Jonathan, and
with him fifty men.
8:7. Of the sons of Alam, Isaias the son of Athalias, and
with him seventy men.
8:8. Of the sons of Saphatia: Zebodia the son of Michael,
and with him eighty men.
8:9. Of the sons of Joab, Obedia the son of Jahiel, and
with him two hundred and eighteen men.
8:10. Of the sons of Selomith, the son of Josphia, and with
him a hundred and sixty men.
8:11. Of the sons of Bebai, Zacharias the son of Bebai: and
with him eight and twenty men.
8:12. Of the sons of Azgad, Joanan the son of Eccetan, and
with him a hundred and ten men.
8:13. Of the sons of Adonicam, who were the last: and these
are their names: Eliphelet, and Jehiel, and Samaias, and
with them sixty men.
8:14. Of the sons of Begui, Uthai and Zachur, and with them
seventy men.
8:15. And I gathered them together to the river, which
runneth down to Ahava, and we stayed there three days: and
I sought among the people and among the priests for the
sons of Levi, and found none there.
8:16. So I sent Eliezer, and Ariel, and Semeias, and
Elnathan, and Jarib, and another Elnathan, and Nathan, and
Zacharias, and Mosollam, chief men: and Joiarib, and
Elnathan, wise men.
8:17. And I sent them to Eddo, who is chief in the place of
Chasphia, and I put in their mouth the words that they
should speak to Eddo, and his brethren the Nathinites in the
place of Chasphia, that they should bring us ministers of
the house of our God.
8:18. And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought
us a most learned man of the sons of Moholi the son of Levi
the son of Israel, and Sarabias and his sons, and his
brethren eighteen,
8:19. And Hasabias, and with him Isaias of the sons of
Merari, and his brethren, and his sons twenty.
8:20. And of the Nathinites, whom David, and the princes
gave for the service of the Levites, Nathinites two hundred
and twenty: all these were called by their names.
8:21. And I proclaimed there a fast by the river Ahava,
that we might afflict ourselves before the Lord our God,
and might ask of him a right way for us and for our
children, and for all our substance.
And I proclaimed a fast... It is not enough to part from
Babylon, that is, figuratively from sin, but we must also
do works of penance; and therefore Esdras here proclaimed
an extraordinary fast to those that were come from
captivity. This shews that fasting was commanded and
practised from the earliest times.
8:22. For I was ashamed to ask the king for aid and for
horsemen, to defend us from the enemy in the way: because
we had said to the king: The hand of our God is upon all
them that seek him in goodness: and his power and strength,
and wrath upon all them that forsake him.
8:23. And we fasted, and besought our God for this: and it
fell out prosperously unto us.
8:24. And I separated twelve of the chief of the priests,
Sarabias, and Hasabias, and with them ten of their
brethren,
8:25. And I weighed unto them the silver and gold, and the
vessels consecrated for the house of our God, which the
king and his counsellors, and his princes, and all Israel,
that were found had offered.
8:26. And I weighed to their hands six hundred and fifty
talents of silver, and a hundred vessels of silver, and a
hundred talents of gold,
8:27. And twenty cups of gold, of a thousand solids, and
two vessels of the best shining brass, beautiful as gold.
8:28. And I said to them: You are the holy ones of the
Lord, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and gold,
that is freely offered to the Lord the God of our fathers.
8:29. Watch ye and keep them, till you deliver them by
weight before the chief of the priests, and of the Levites,
and the heads of the families of Israel in Jerusalem, into
the treasure of the house of the Lord.
8:30. And the priests and the Levites received the weight
of the silver and gold, and the vessels, to carry them to
Jerusalem to the house of our God.
8:31. Then we set forward from the river Ahava on the
twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem: and the
hand of our God was upon us, and delivered us from the hand
of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.
8:32. And we came to Jerusalem, and we stayed there three
days.
8:33. And on the fourth day the silver and the gold, and
the vessels were weighed in the house of our God by the
hand of Meremoth the son of Urias the priest, and with him
was Eleazar the son of Phinees, and with them Jozabad the
son of Josue, and Noadaia the son of Benoi, Levites.
8:34. According to the number and weight of everything: and
all the weight was written at that time.
8:35. Moreover the children of them that had been carried
away that were come out of the captivity, offered
holocausts to the God of Israel, twelve calves for all the
people of Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and
twelve he goats for sin: all for a holocaust to the Lord.
8:36. And they gave the king's edicts to the lords that
were from the king's court, and the governors beyond the
river, and they furthered the people and the house of God.
1 Esdras Chapter 9
Esdras mourneth for the transgression of the people: his
confession and prayer.
9:1. And after these things were accomplished, the princes
came to me, saying: The people of Israel, and the priests
and Levites have not separated themselves from the people
of the lands, and from their abominations, namely, of the
Chanaanites, and the Hethites, and the Pherezites, and the
Jebusites, and the Ammonites, and the Moabites, and the
Egyptians, and the Amorrhites.
This shows how sinful it is to intermarry with those that
the Church forbids us, on account of the danger of
perversion and falling off from the true faith.
9:2. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves
and for their sons, and they have mingled the holy seed
with the people of the lands. And the hand of the princes
and magistrates hath been first in this transgression.
9:3. And when I had heard this word, I rent my mantle and
my coat, and plucked off the hairs of my head and my beard,
and I sat down mourning.
9:4. And there were assembled to me all that feared the God
of Israel, because of the transgression of those that were
come from the captivity, and I sat sorrowful, until the
evening sacrifice.
9:5. And at the evening sacrifice I rose up from my
affliction, and having rent my mantle and my garment, I
fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands to the Lord my
God,
9:6. And said: My God I am confounded and ashamed to lift
up my face to thee: for our iniquities are multiplied over
our heads, and our sins are grown up even unto heaven,
9:7. From the days of our fathers: and we ourselves also
have sinned grievously unto this day, and for our iniquities
we and our kings, and our priests have been delivered into
the hands of the kings of the lands, and to the sword, and
to captivity, and to spoil, and to confusion of face, as it
is at this day.
9:8. And now as a little, and for a moment has our prayer
been made before the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant,
and give us a pin in his holy place, and that our God would
enlighten our eyes, and would give us a little life in our
bondage.
A pin... or nail, here signifies a small settlement or
holding; which Esdras begs for, to preserve even a part of
the people, who, by their great iniquity had incurred the
anger of God.
9:9. For we are bondmen, and in our bondage our God hath
not forsaken us, but hath extended mercy upon us before the
king of the Persians, to give us life, and to set up the
house of our God, and to rebuild the desolations thereof,
and to give us a fence in Juda and Jerusalem.
9:10. And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for
we have forsaken thy commandments,
9:11. Which thou hast commanded by the hand of thy servants
the prophets, saying: The land which you go to possess, is
an unclean land, according to the uncleanness of the
people, and of other lands, with their abominations, who
have filled it from mouth to mouth with their filth.
9:12. Now therefore give not your daughters to their sons,
and take not their daughters for your sons, and seek not
their peace, nor their prosperity for ever: that you may be
strengthened, and may eat the good things of the land, and
may have your children your heirs for ever.
9:13. And after all that is come upon us, for our most
wicked deeds, and our great sin, seeing that thou our God
hast saved us from our iniquity, and hast given us a
deliverance as at this day,
9:14. That we should not turn away, nor break thy
commandments, nor join in marriage with the people of these
abominations. Art thou angry with us unto utter
destruction, not to leave us a remnant to be saved?
9:15. O Lord God of Israel, thou art just: for we remain
yet to be saved as at this day. Behold we are before thee
in our sin, for there can be no standing before thee in
this matter.
1 Esdras Chapter 10
Order is given for discharging strange women: the names of
the guilty.
10:1. Now when Esdras was thus praying, and beseeching, and
weeping, and lying before the temple of God, there was
gathered to him of Israel an exceeding great assembly of
men and women and children, and the people wept with much
lamentation.
10:2. And Sechenias the son of Jehiel of the sons of Elam
answered, and said to Esdras: We have sinned against our
God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the
land: and now if there be repentance in Israel concerning
this,
10:3. Let us make a covenant with the Lord our God, to put
away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according
to the will of the Lord, and of them that fear the
commandment of the Lord our God: let it be done according
to the law.
10:4. Arise, it is thy part to give orders, and we will be
with thee: take courage, and do it.
10:5. So Esdras arose, and made the chiefs of the priests
and of the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they
would do according to this word, and they swore.
10:6. And Esdras rose up from before the house of God, and
went to the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliasib, and
entered in thither: he ate no bread, and drank no water:
for he mourned for the transgression of them that were come
out of the captivity.
10:7. And proclamation was made in Juda and Jerusalem to
all the children of the captivity, that they should
assemble together into Jerusalem.
10:8. And that whosoever would not come within three days,
according to the counsel of the princes and the ancients,
all his substance should be taken away, and he should be
cast out of the company of them that were returned from
captivity.
10:9. Then all the men of Juda, and Benjamin gathered
themselves together to Jerusalem within three days, in the
ninth month, the twentieth day of the month: and all the
people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling
because of the sin, and the rain.
10:10. And Esdras the priest stood up, and said to them:
You have transgressed, and taken strange wives, to add to
the sins of Israel.
10:11. And now make confession to the Lord the God of your
fathers, and do his pleasure, and separate yourselves from
the people of the land, and from your strange wives.
10:12. And all the multitude answered and said with a loud
voice: According to thy word unto us, so be it done.
10:13. But as the people are many, and it is time of rain,
and we are not able to stand without, and it is not a work
of one day or two, (for we have exceedingly sinned in this
matter,)
10:14. Let rulers be appointed in all the multitude: and in
all our cities, let them that have taken strange wives come
at the times appointed, and with them the ancients and the
judges of every city, until the wrath of our God be turned
away from us for this sin.
10:15. Then Jonathan the son of Azahel, and Jaasia the son
of Thecua were appointed over this, and Mesollam and
Sebethai, Levites, helped them:
10:16. And the children of the captivity did so. And Esdras
the priest, and the men heads of the families in the houses
of their fathers, and all by their names, went and sat down
in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.
10:17. And they made an end with all the men that had taken
strange wives by the first day of the first month.
10:18. And there were found among the sons of the priests
that had taken strange wives: Of the sons of Josue the son
of Josedec, and his brethren, Maasia, and Eliezer, and
Jarib, and Godolia.
10:19. And they gave their hands to put away their wives,
and to offer for their offence a ram of the flock.
10:20. And of the sons of Emmer, Hanani, and Zebedia.
10:21. And of the sons of Harim, Maasia, and Elia, and
Semeia, and Jehiel, and Ozias.
10:22. And of the sons of Pheshur, Elioenai, Maasia,
Ismael, Nathanael, Jozabed, and Elasa.
10:23. And of the sons of the Levites, Jozabed, and Semei,
and Celaia, the same is Calita, Phataia, Juda, and Eliezer.
10:24. And of the singing men, Elisiab: and of the porters,
Sellum, and Telem, and Uri.
10:25. And of Israel, of the sons of Pharos, Remeia, and
Jezia, and Melchia, and Miamin, and Eliezer, and Melchia,
and Banea.
10:26. And of the sons of Elam, Mathania, Zacharias, and
Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jerimoth, and Elia.
10:27. And of the sons of Zethua, Elioenai, Eliasib,
Mathania, Jerimuth, and Zabad, and Aziaza.
10:28. And of the sons of Babai, Johanan, Hanania, Zabbai,
Athalai:
10:29. And of the sons of Bani, Mosollam, and Melluch, and
Adaia, Jasub, and Saal, and Ramoth.
10:30. And of the sons of Phahath, Moab, Edna, and Chalal,
Banaias, and Maasias, Mathanias, Beseleel, Bennui, and
Manasse.
10:31. And of the sons of Herem, Eliezer, Josue, Melchias,
Semeias, Simeon,
10:32. Benjamin, Maloch, Samarias.
10:33. And of the sons of Hasom, Mathanai, Mathatha, Zabad,
Eliphelet, Jermai, Manasse, Semei.
10:34. Of the sons of Bani, Maaddi, Amram, and Uel,
10:35. Baneas, and Badaias, Cheliau,
10:36. Vania, Marimuth, and Eliasib,
10:37. Mathanias, Mathania, and Jasi,
10:38. And Bani, and Bennui, Semei,
10:39. And Salmias, and Nathan, and Adaias,
10:40. And Mechnedebai, Sisai, Sarai,
10:41. Ezrel, and Selemiau, Semeria,
10:42. Sellum, Amaria, Joseph.
10:43. Of the sons of Nebo, Jehiel, Mathathias, Zabad,
Zabina, Jeddu, and Joel, and Banaia.
10:44. All these had taken strange wives, and there were
among them women that had borne children.
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