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Chapter 1
In the first year of the Persian king, Cyrus, the Lord fulfilled the promise which he had made through Jeremias. He put a new resolve into the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia, who thereupon published a written decree all through his dominions; A message, it said, from Cyrus, king of Persia. The Lord God of heaven has made me master of the world, and now he will have me rebuild his own temple for him at Jerusalem, a city of Judaea. Who is left among you of that race? To Jerusalem let him go, in Judaea, with divine aid to speed him; and there let him help to build the temple of the Lord God of Israel, who is the true God. And let all others take note, that such a man is to receive assistance from his neighbours; silver and gold, stores and beasts are to be put at his disposal, apart from the offerings they may make, of their own free will, to this temple of God at Jerusalem.
Thereupon the clan chiefs of Juda and Benjamin, with priests and Levites and all whom God had so inspired, set out for Jerusalem to rebuild the Lord's temple there; and all their neighbours lightened the task for them with presents of silver ware and gold, of stores, beasts and furniture, over and above the offerings that were freely made. King Cyrus himself brought the temple ornaments out again; these had been carried off from Jerusalem by Nabuchodonosor, who laid them up in the temple of his own god, but now, at the orders of the Persian king Cyrus, Mithridates son of Gezabar must bring them out again, and give full account of them to Sassabasar, chief of the tribe of Juda. And this was the count made: gold trays thirty, and silver trays a thousand, knives twenty-nine, cups of gold thirty,... baser cups of silver four hundred and ten,... and a thousand other appurtenances; in all, of gold and silver appurtenances, five thousand four hundred. All these were taken back to Jerusalem by Sassabasar and the exiles who returned with him from Babylon.
Chapter 2
In what numbers, then, did they come back to Jerusalem, and to the various cities of Juda, these exiles that had been taken to Babylon by the Chaldaean king Nabuchodonosor, and were now on the march for home? Their leaders were Zorobabel, Josue, Nehemia, Saraia, Rahelaia, Mardochai, Belsan, Mesphar, Beguai, Rehun and Baana. These were the numbers the various clans of Israel provided: Pharos, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two, Sephatia, three hundred and seventy-two, Area, seven hundred and seventy-five, Phahath-Moab ... Josue-Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve, Aelam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four, Zethua, nine hundred and forty-five, Zachai, seven hundred and sixty, Bani, six hundred and forty-two, Bebai, six hundred and twenty-three, Azgad, one thousand two hundred and twenty-two, Adonicam, six hundred and sixty-six, Beguai, two thousand and fifty-six, Adin, four hundred and fifty-four, Ather, coming from Ezechias, ninety-eight, Besai, three hundred and twenty-three, Jora, a hundred and twelve, Hasum, two hundred and twenty-three.
And the various townships provided: Gebbar, ninety-five, Bethlehem, a hundred and twenty-three, Netupha, fifty-six, Anathoth, a hundred and twenty-eight, Azmaveth, forty-two, Cariathiarirn, Cephira and Beroth, seven hundred and forty-three, Rama and Gabaa, six hundred and twenty-one, Machmas, a hundred and twenty-two, Bethel and Hai, two hundred and twenty-three, Nebo, fifty-two, Megbis, a hundred and fifty-six, (the other Aelam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four), Harim, three hundred and twenty, Lod, Hadid and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-five, Jericho, three hundred and forty-five, Senaa, three thousand six hundred and thirty...
And the various priestly clans provided: Jadaia, in the line of Josue, nine hundred and seventy-three, Emmer, a thousand and fifty-two, Pheshur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven, Harim, a thousand and seventeen.
And the various Levite clans provided: Josue and Cedmihel, that came down from Odovias, seventy-four, Asaph's sons, the musicians, a hundred and twenty-eight, Sellum, Ater, Telmon, Accub, Hatita and Sobai, the door-keepers, a hundred and thirty-nine in all.
The Nathinaeans included the sons of Siha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, Ceros, Siaa, Phadon, Lebana, Hagaba, Accub, Hagab, Semlai, Hanan, Gaddel, Gaher, Raaia, Rasin, Necoda, Gazam, Aza, Phasea, Besee, Asena, Munim, Nephusim, Bacbuc, Hacupha, Harhur, Besluth, Mahida, Harsa, Bercos, Sisara, Thema, Nasia and Hatipha; and Solomon's servants, including Sotai, Sopheret, Pharuda, Jala, Dercon, Geddel, Saphatia, Hatil, Phochereth from Asebaim, and Ami; these Nathinaeans, including those descended from the servants of Solomon, amounted to three hundred and ninety-two in all.
Some of those who came back from Thelmala, Thelharsa, Cherub, Adon and Emer could not prove from where their ancestors came or whether they were of Israelite stock; they were descendants of Dalaia, Tobia and Necoda, amounting to six hundred and fifty-two. Such, too, among the priests were the sons of Hobia, of Accos, and of that Berzellai who married a daughter of Berzellai the Galaadite and took his name; they could find no written record of their ancestry, and were excluded from the priesthood; they might not partake of the food reserved for the priests, the governor told them, until there should be a high priest that bore the touchstones of wisdom and truth.
The whole number, taken together, amounted to forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, not counting the men and women servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven, with two hundred men and maids that were singers. They had with them seven hundred and thirty-six horses, two hundred and forty-five mules, four hundred and thirty-five camels, six thousand seven hundred and twenty asses.
Some of the clan chiefs, upon entering the Lord's temple at Jerusalem, made of their own accord an offering for rebuilding God's house where it stood; contributing to that end, as their means allowed, sixty-one thousand gold pieces, five thousand silver pieces, and a hundred sets of vestments for the priests. And now priests and Levites (and some of the people), singers, door-keepers and Nathinaeans were back in their own precincts, and all Israel in the cities that were their homes.
Chapter 3
And now, for the first time since Israel's home-coming, it was the seventh month of the year; the people, with one consent, had gathered at Jerusalem. Josue son of Josedec and his brother priests, Zorobabel son of Salathiel and his brother chiefs, must bestir themselves; the God of Israel must have an altar built for him, if the law given by his servant Moses was to be obeyed, by the offering of burnt-sacrifice. No more they dared to do, with hostile nations threatening them all around, than erect God's altar on its ruined base; here, morning and evening, burnt-sacrifice was offered, and with that daily offering, with the due observance of each day as it came, they held the feast of Tent-dwelling. After that, burnt-sacrifice went on uninterruptedly, on the feast days set apart for the Lord, and on other days, too, when gifts were brought to the Lord out of devotion. From the first day of this seventh month onwards the offering of burnt-sacrifice to the Lord began; and still they had not laid the very foundations of God's temple.
But meanwhile, money was being spent on quarrymen and stone-masons; on food, too, and drink, and oil for the men of Tyre and Sidon, who must convey cedar planks from Lebanon by sea to Joppe, in pursuance of the Persian king's decree. And in the second month of the second year after their return to God's temple at Jerusalem, Zorobabel and Josue with their brethren, priests and Levites and citizens returned from exile, began their task. Levites that were above the age of twenty were appointed to hasten on the execution of the divine command, and at the head of these Levites, clansmen of Henadad's clan, were Josue's clan and Cedmihel's (and the men of Juda), insisting that they should give the temple workmen no rest. So at last the masons laid the foundation of the Lord's temple. There stood the priests in full array with their trumpets; there stood the Levites, come down from Asaph, with their cymbals, ready to praise God as David bade them, that long ago was king of all Israel. And as their hymn of praise went up to the Lord, The Lord is gracious, his mercy to Israel endures for ever, the whole people raised a great shout, thanking the Lord that now the foundation of his temple was laid.
Among the priests and Levites and chiefs of clans there were many older men who had seen the earlier temple when it stood built there. In their eyes, that was the Temple, and they cried aloud in lament, while these others shouted and huzza'd for joy. Shouts of folk rejoicing, and cries of folk lamenting, none could tell them apart; it was all a confused uproar of men's voices, that echoed far away.
Chapter 4
When news reached the enemies of Juda and Benjamin that the returned exiles were rebuilding the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, they had a request to make of Zorobabel and the chieftains. Let us help you to build it, they said; we too have recourse to the same God whom you worship; witness the sacrifices we have been offering to him ever since the Assyrian king Asar-Haddon settled us here. But Zorobabel and Josue and the clan chiefs told them, To build a house to our God can be no common task of yours and ours. The Lord is our God, and we alone must be the builders of it; such were the orders given to us by Cyrus, king of Persia. Nothing would serve the neighbouring folk after that but they must thwart Juda's purpose and interfere, as best they could, with the enterprise. All through the reign of Cyrus, and right up to the time when Darius came to the throne of Persia, they were still hiring pleaders to baulk the design.
At the beginning of Assuerus' reign, they sent a letter which brought accusations against the men of Juda and Jerusalem; and when Artaxerxes came to the throne, Beselam, Mithridates and Thabeel, with their partisans, addressed another to king Artaxerxes, in Syrian script and in the Syrian dialect. This letter about a Jerusalem, sent by the procurator Reum and the notary Samsai to king Artaxerxes, is given below; it is addressed in the name of Reum and Samsai and their partisans, the Dinaeans, Apharsathachaeans, Terphalaeans, Apharsaeans, Erchuaeans, Babylonians, Susanechaeans, Dievites and Aelamites, and men of other nations besides, settled anew by Asenaphar, of great and glorious memory, in the cities of Samaria, and elsewhere beyond the Euphrates. Peace be with us! (here the text of their letter begins). Greetings to king Artaxerxes from his subjects beyond the Euphrates. Be it known to the king's grace, that the Jews he sent here have betaken themselves to Jerusalem, a city ever infamous for its rebellions, where they have set about building up the ramparts and repairing the walls. We warn the king's grace that if this city is rebuilt, and its walls restored, there will be an end of all tribute, toll and custom, to the prejudice of the royal revenues. To us, beholden as we are to the royal bounty, the sight of any wrong done to the king is something not to be borne; that is why we are sending him this information. Let him consult the archives of the kings who went before him, and he will learn, from what is set down in their annals, that this is a rebellious city, the bane of king and governor; time out of mind, wars were ever brewing there, and for that very reason it was laid in ruins. We warn the king's grace, then, that once this city is rebuilt, and its walls restored, he must not look to have any dominions left on this side of the river.
Thereupon the king wrote to Reum, Samsai, and their partisans in Samaria and beyond Euphrates, wishing them health and peace. Your accusation (he said) has been read out in my presence, and its sense is clear to me. I have had research made, and it proves that this city rebelled ever against the royal allegiance, a nursery of wars and revolts. Time was when Jerusalem had kings most powerful, that were overlords of the whole country beyond Euphrates, receiving tribute, toll and custom from it. It is my pleasure that you should restrain these men from rebuilding their city, until I take further order. See that these commands of mine are not neglected, to the imperilling, by slow degrees, of the royal power.
No sooner had the text of this decree from king Artaxerxes been read out to them, than Reum, Samsai and their partisans went post-haste to Jerusalem, and prevented the Jews by main force from any further enterprise.
And so it was now; even the raising of a temple at Jerusalem must needs be abandoned, nor was it ever resumed till the second year of Darius' reign over Persia.
Chapter 5
But the God of Israel had still his prophets, Aggaeus, and Zacharias son of Addo, to give his message to the Jews, now that they had returned to their own country and city. With these prophets to aid them, Zorobabel son of Salathiel and Josue son of Josedec did set about providing the Lord with a temple of his own at Jerusalem; and all at once there were protests from Thathanai, who had charge of affairs west of the river, and Stharbuzanai, and all their partisans; Who commissioned you, they asked, to rebuild this temple, and put its walls in repair? We must ask of you besides the names of those who are promoting the enterprise. But there was no withholding the elders of the Jews, so sure were they of the divine protection; the matter must be referred to Darius himself before they would meet the charge against them.
Here is a copy of the letter sent by the governor Thathanai, by Stharbuzanai, and their Arphasachite partisans west of the river, to king Darius. To king Darius, all peace (their message ran). This is to inform the king's grace that we have paid a visit to Judaea, where they are building a temple of rough-hewn stone in honour of the great God; timber is already being fitted into the walls; they are busily employed, and have the work well in hand. We summoned their elders, and asked who had given the commission for such building and such repairs, and also demanded, for your better information, a list of their leaders, which is given below. Their answer was, The God we worship is the Lord of heaven and earth; the temple we are rebuilding is an edifice built by a great king of Israel, long ago. Years passed, and the God of heaven, goaded to anger by our fathers, left them at the mercy of Nabuchodonosor, the Chaldaean king who then ruled in Babylon; he it was laid the temple in ruins, and carried off as exiles to Babylon the men who worshipped there. Then Cyrus became king of Babylon; and Cyrus, in his first year, gave order that this house of God should be rebuilt. There was gold ware and silver in the temple of our God; all this Nabuchodonosor had carried off from Jerusalem and laid it up in another temple, there at Babylon. What did Cyrus? He stripped the Babylonian temple in his turn; all must be given over to one Sassabasar, the man he had appointed to rule us; Take these, he said, and lay them up in the temple at Jerusalem. The house of God, he said, must be rebuilt on its old foundations. But all Sassabasar did, when he reached Jerusalem, was to lay the foundations of God's temple; it has been in building ever since, and remains unfinished.
May it please the king's grace to have research made in the royal archives, there at Babylon, to find out whether Cyrus did indeed give any orders for God's house at Jerusalem to be rebuilt; meanwhile, we await the royal pleasure.
Chapter 6
Thereupon, at king Darius orders, research was made in the archives laid up at Babylon; and at last in Ecbatana, a city of the Median province, a document was found to this effect: In the first year of king Cyrus a royal decree was made about the house of God at Jerusalem. It is to be rebuilt, for the better offering of sacrifice; foundations to be laid that will support a structure sixty cubits... high and sixty wide; upon these three rows of rough-hewn stone, and then courses of timber. For all this, the expense to be defrayed by the royal treasury. All the gold and silver ware from the temple at Jerusalem that was brought to Babylon by Nabuchodonosor is to be restored, and carried back to Jerusalem, to find its fitting place in the temple of God.
... It is my will that Thathanai, governor of the province beyond the river, and Stharbuzanai, and the Apharsachites beyond the river, their associates, should cease interfering with the Jews; the Jewish ruler and the Jewish elders must be allowed to go on with their temple-building, so that this house of God may be reestablished on its ancient site. And to the intent that these elders of the Jews may be able to continue the said building without intermission, my will is that moneys should be paid to them with all diligence out of the royal chest, and namely out of the tribute that is collected beyond the river; moreover that if there is need of calves, lambs or kids for burnt-sacrifice to the God of heaven, or of corn, salt, wine and oil to perform the ceremonies practised at Jerusalem, supplies of these should be given them daily, without fail. So let them be enabled to make their offerings to the God of heaven, and let them pray for the welfare of the king and royal princes. My will is, further, that if any man presume to alter the tenour of this decree, a beam should be taken from his house, and himself nailed up on it; the said house to be confiscated. And may the God, who has made Jerusalem the shrine of his name, destroy every kingdom and people which attempts to injure or destroy this temple of his that is built there. I, Darius, am the author of this decree, and will have it carried out with all diligence.
Carry it out they did, and diligently, both Thathanai and Stharbuzanai and all their partisans. As for the elders of the Jews, they built on, and all went favourably; true prophets were Aggaeus and Zacharias son of Addo; higher and higher the fabric rose, with the God of Israel for its speed, with Cyrus for its speed, and Darius, (and Artaxerxes), kings of Persia. It was on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of king Darius, that they finished God's house; great joy had priest and Levite, great joy had all the returned exiles, as they consecrated God's house together. The offerings they made at the dedication were a hundred calves, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs; besides twelve goats to atone for the faults of all Israel, one for each of Israel's tribes. Row upon row the priests stood, turn and turn about the Levites ministered, as the law of Moses bade them, doing the Lord's errand there at Jerusalem.
Afterwards, on the fourteenth day of the first month, Israel's sons, returned from captivity, kept the paschal feast. All the priests had rid themselves of defilement, and so had the Levites to a man; cleansed they must be, to slay the paschal victim for the returned exiles, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves besides. So the Israelites who had come back from Babylon ate the pasch; and with them those others who had remained in the country, and been defiled by contact with its inhabitants; now they united with their brethren in having recourse to the Lord, the God of Israel. And all through the week following they kept the feast of unleavened bread, glad at heart. Glad indeed the Lord had made them, Assyria's king no more their enemy, their task so lightened for them in building a house for the Lord God of Israel.
Chapter 7
Now turn we to the reign of Artaxerxes in Persia, and to Esdras. This Esdras was descended through Saraias, Helcias, Sellum, Sadoc, Achitob, Amarias, Azarias, Maraioth, Zarahias, Ozi, Bocci, Abisue, Phinees and Eleazar from Aaron, that was the first priest of all. He was a scribe, well versed in the law given to Israel by the Lord God through Moses; and now he came from Babylon armed, under God's favour, with all the powers he had asked from the king. Some of the common folk made the journey to Jerusalem with him, as well as priests, Levites, singers, door-keepers and Nathinaeans. This was in the seventh year of king Artaxerxes; they reached Jerusalem in the fifth month of this seventh year, on the first day of the month, after leaving Babylon on the first day of the first month, such was the favour God shewed him. His was a heart given up to study of the Lord's law, ready to hold fast by it and teach the men of Israel decree and award.
Here is a copy of the letter Artaxerxes sent with him, addressed to, The priest Esdras, a scribe well versed in the Lord's utterances, all the commands and observances he enjoined upon Israel. Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Esdras, a scribe most learned in the law of the God of heaven, health and greeting. My will is, that any Israelite, priest or Levite who desires it should have leave to accompany you to Jerusalem. You are commissioned by the king and his seven counsellors to visit Juda and Jerusalem in the name of that divine law you carry with you, and to convey thither such silver and gold as the king and his council are sending to the God who dwells there, the God of Israel, as their own free gift. Whatever silver and gold in all Babylon is at your disposal, all that is willingly offered by people and priests for the temple of their God at Jerusalem, you are free to accept; and so with all your diligence buy calf and ram and lamb and all the offerings and libations that go with them, gifts, when you reach Jerusalem, for the temple of your God. Use what remains of the sum as you and your brethren, in obedience to the will of your God, shall see fit. There at Jerusalem, in the presence of your God, consecrate those appurtenances of his worship you have with you. All else you must needs spend upon your God's house shall be defrayed by the treasury and the royal purse, at my own cost.
King Artaxerxes to all that have charge of the royal revenues beyond Euphrates; My will and decree is, that if the priest Esdras, a scribe of the God of heaven, demands any payment of you, it should be made without more ado; so long as this payment does not exceed a hundred talents of silver, two hundred quarters of wheat, or six hundred and fifty gallons of oil; for salt, there is no limit prescribed. What the God of heaven needs for his temple worship, the God of heaven must receive; let there be no remissness, that may call down his vengeance on the king, and the king's heirs. We make it known to you further that priests, Levites, singers, door-keepers, Nathinaeans, and other persons ministering in the temple of this God, are exempt from all tax, toll and custom of your imposing.
It is for you, Esdras, who do carry with you the wise precepts of your God, to appoint judges and magistrates, that will try the causes of all such persons beyond the river as are acquainted with your God's law; and such as do not know it, you may instruct freely. If anyone neglects to observe that law, or the king's law either, these judges shall have power to pronounce sentence on him of death, exile, confiscation of his goods, or imprisonment.
Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, that moved the king so to honour his temple at Jerusalem, and deigned so to aid me when king and councillor and noble gave me audience! My task lightened by such favour shewn me, I set about finding men of name in Israel to bear me company.
Chapter 8
The leaders, who took part with me in this migration under Artaxerxes, were descended as follows: Gersom was of the stock of Phinees, Daniel of Ithamar, Hattus of David. These were the numbers the various clans provided: Pharos (of the sons of Sechenias), a hundred and fifty under Zacharias; Phahath-Moab, two hundred under Elioenai, son of Zarehe; Sechenias, three hundred under..., son of Ezechiel; Adan, fifty under Abed son of Jonathan; Alam, seventy under Isaias son of Athalias; Saphatia, eighty under Zebedia son of Michael; Joab, two hundred and eighteen under Obedia son of Jahiel; Selomith, a hundred and sixty under..., son of Josphia; Bebai, twenty-eight under Bebai's son Zacharias; Azgad, a hundred and ten under Johanan son of Eccetan; Adonicam, sixty, under his last remaining sons, Elipheleth, Jehiel and Samaias; Begui, seventy under Uthai and Zachur.
We made a halt of three days by the Ahava river; and there I found that I had common folk with me and priests, but no Levites. So I despatched some of the chiefs, Eliezer, Ariel, Semeias, Elnathan, Jarib, (a second Elnathan,) Nathan, Zacharias and Mosollam, with two prudent counsellors, Joiarib and Elnathan, to Eddo, who was in command at Casphia; I bade them ask Eddo and the Nathinaeans who were there with him to supply us with ministers for the house of our God. And they, by God's favour, sent us..., a Levite of Moholi's clan, with Sarabias and eighteen more of his kinsmen; also a Merarite, Hasabias, with Isaias and twenty more of his. There were also two hundred and twenty Nathinaeans; these Nathinaeans were men bound over by David and David's councillors to the service of the Levites. A list of all their names was supplied to us.
There, by the Ahava river, I proclaimed a fast; we would do penance, and ask of the Lord our God a safe journey for ourselves, for the children who went with us, and for all that was ours. I would have asked the king for an escort of horsemen to defend us from attack, but shame withheld me; had we not boasted in the king's presence that our God graciously protected all who had recourse to him, that only faithless servants of his brought down on themselves the constraining power of his vengeance? So fast we did, to win the favour we asked of God, and all went well.
Then I chose twelve of the leading priests, Sarabias and Hasabias with ten others, and handed over to them the offerings made by king, councillors, and nobles, and by such Israelites as came forward with gifts; the whole weight of silver and gold, and all the hallowed appurtenances of our God's temple. It was six hundred and fifty talents of silver I paid over to them, with a hundred pieces of silver ware; and a hundred talents of gold, with twelve bowls of the same metal, each of ten pounds weight, and two pieces of the finest bronze ware, like gold itself for beauty. You are consecrated to the Lord, I told them, and here are consecrated things; here are silver and gold offered as a free gift to the Lord God of our fathers. Keep watchful guard over them; you are answerable for delivering them safely, in the presence of priest and Levite and clan chief there in Jerusalem, into the treasury of our God. So these priests and Levites took all that weight of silver and gold into their keeping, and the ornaments besides, that must be brought safely to the house of our God at Jerusalem.
We left the Ahava river on the twelfth day of the first month, bound for Jerusalem; and, with our God protecting us from all peril on the way, of open enemy or secret, to Jerusalem we came. We had been there but three days before silver, gold and ornaments, were delivered safe in our God's temple. Meremoth, son of the priest Urias, and Eleazar, son of Phinees, with two Levites, Jozabed son of Josue and Noadaia son of Bennoi, handed it over, all counted and weighed, and its weight was duly entered. And these exiles, restored now from captivity, offered the God of Israel burnt-sacrifice; twelve calves for the twelve tribes of Israel, ninety rams and seventy-seven lambs, besides twelve goats as an offering for fault. Such was the burnt-sacrifice they made in the Lord's honour; then they delivered the royal edict to the governors, that were the king's officers; and now God's people and God's house were held in honour by all that bore rule in the country west of Euphrates.
Chapter 9
When all this was done, a complaint was brought to me by the chieftains, against priest and Levite and common folk alike. They had not kept themselves apart from the old inhabitants of the land, Chanaanite, Hethite, Pherezite, Jebusite, Ammonite, Moabite, Egyptian and Amorrhite, or from their detestable practices; foreign wives and daughters-in-law had contaminated the sacred stock of Israel, and the chief blame for this lay with the rulers and magistrates themselves. At this news I tore cloak and tunic both, plucked hair from head and beard, and sat there lamenting. Such as feared God's warnings, defied by these restored exiles, rallied to my side; and still I sat lamenting until the time came for the evening sacrifice.
Then, at the time of the evening sacrifice, I rose up from my posture of grief; cloak and tunic still torn about me, I fell on my knees and stretched out my hands to the Lord my God. And thus I prayed: my God, I am all confusion, I am ashamed to lift my eyes towards you; so deep, head-deep, are we sunk in the flood of our wrong-doing, so high, heaven-high, mounts the tale of our transgressions. Sinful fathers begot us, sinners are we to this day; in vain have we fallen a prey, we and our kings and our priests, to the power of Gentile kings, to massacre, exile, rapine, and the humiliation that is with us now. For a brief moment it seemed as if the Lord our God had listened to our prayers; he would leave a remnant of our race surviving, leave us a foot-hold on this holy ground; some gleam of hope our God would afford us, some breath of life in our bondage. Slaves we were, but in our slavery the Lord did not abandon us; he deigned to win us the favour of the Persian king; we were to live still, the house of our God was to rise anew, restored from its ruins, Juda and Jerusalem should have a wall to defend them. And now, Lord our God, after all this, what plea can we offer? Your will stands defied.
That will of yours, through your servants the prophets, you have made fully known to us. They warned us, The land in whose conquest you are engaged is a heathen land, like heathen lands everywhere, unclean; detestable rites have filled it to the brim with defilement. Never a daughter of yours for their sons, never a daughter of theirs for yours; never peace or good will between them and you, while time lasts! So you shall rise to greatness, so you shall enjoy all the blessings this land of yours can give, and bequeath them evermore to your sons for their inheritance. And now, after so much wrong-doing, such punishment for lives ill lived, such pardon for our sins, and the deliverance that is with us this day, should we turn back? Should wet defy your commandments, by mating with these, the abominable? Oh, then indeed your patience is at an end; no remnant of us is to be left surviving! Lord God of Israel, the fault is not with you; that we are alive to-day is proof of it. Ours is the fault; we stand before you guilty, and without excuse.
Chapter 10
While Esdras thus prayed for mercy, lying in tears before God's temple, a great throng of Israelites gathered round him, men, women and children alike, and loud was their lament. At last Sechenias the son of Jehiel, of Aelam's clan, said to him, We have offended our God by marrying foreign wives, women of the neighbouring peoples; but is there no hope of pardon for Israel? Come, let us make a covenant with the Lord our God; let us send away these wives, and the children born of them. That is the Lord's counsel; that is the counsel of all who reverence his commands; let the law be obeyed! With you, Esdras, the decision rests; count on our obedience; up, and go boldly about your task. So Esdras rose up, and bound them by an oath, priests, Levites, and common folk, to do their part. Then, leaving the temple fore-court, he betook himself to Johanan's lodging, that was son of Eliasib; but here too he would neither eat nor drink, so bitterly he grieved over the restored exiles and their faithlessness.
And now word went round Juda and Jerusalem, that all those who had returned from captivity must meet together in the city; it had been decreed by the rulers and the elders that any man who did not appear there within three days should be deprived of all his goods and should be cut off from the restored community. Meet together they did, all the men of Juda and Benjamin, within the three days prescribed (that is, on the twentieth day of the ninth month), at Jerusalem. There they sat, a whole people, in the open space before the house of God, their spirits cowed by guilt, and by the rain that was falling. And the priest Esdras rose up and spoke to them. There is guilt among you, he said; by mating with aliens you have made the reckoning against Israel heavier yet. Confess your fault to the Lord God of your fathers, and obey his will; separate yourselves from the peoples that live around you, from the foreign wives you have married. At that, the whole multitude gave a loud cry, At your bidding it shall be done! Only, because the throng was so great, and it was the rainy season, when there was no standing out of doors, because their task could not be performed in one day or two, so many were the faults thus committed, they would have their rulers go bail for the rest. Then, in each township, those who had married alien wives should meet the elders and judges of it at a fixed time, till at last no faults were left to earn their God's vengeance. So Jonathan, son of Azahel, and Jaasia, son of Thecue, took charge of this, with two Levites, Mesollam and Sebethai, to help them; and the restored exiles kept their word, and separated themselves. The priest Esdras, with the clan chiefs... family by family and man by man; they began making their enquiries on the first day of the tenth month, and by the first day of the first month all the husbands of foreign wives had passed before them.
Some members of the priestly families had made such marriages,... and his brothers, Maasia, Eliezer, Jarib and Godolia, sons of Josue, son of Josedec; all these engaged themselves to send their wives away and sacrifice a ram as an offering for fault. Besides these, there were Hanani and Zebedia, of Emmer's family, Maasia, Elia, Semeia, Jehiel and Ozias, of Harim's, Elioenai, Maasia, Ismael, Nathanael, Jozabed and Elasa, of Pheshur's. The Levites were Jozabed, Semei, Celaia (or Calita), Phataia, Juda and Eliezer; there was one of the singers, Eliasib, and three of the door-keepers, Sellum, Telem and Uri. Of the common folk, there were Remeia, Jezia, Melchia, Miamin, Eliezer (Melchia), and Banea, of Pharo's family; Mathania, Zacharias, Jehiel, Abdi, Jerimoth and Elia, of Aelam's; Elioenai, Eliasib, Mathania, Jerimuth, Zabad and Aziza, of Zethua's; Johanan, Hanania, Zabbai and Athalai, of Bebai's; Mosollam, Melluch, Adaia, Jasub, Saal and Ramoth, of Bani's; Edna, Chalal, Banaias, Maasias, Mathanias, Beseleel, Bennui and Manasses, of Phahath-Moab's. Of Herem's family there were Eliezer, Josue, Melchias, Semeias, Simeon, Benjamin, Maloch and Samarias, and of Hasom's, Mathanai, Mathatha, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jermai, Manasses and Semei. Of Bani's family there were Maaddi, Amram, Uel, Baneas, Badaias, Cheliau, Vania, Marimuth, Eliasib, Mathanias, Mathanai, Jasi, Bani, Bennui, Semei, Salmias, Nathan, Adaias, Mechnedebai, Sisai, Sarai, Ezrel, Selemiau, Semeria, Sellum, Amaria and Joseph. Of Nebo's family, Jehiel, Mathathias, Zabad, Zabina, Jeddu, Joel and Banaia. All these had taken foreign wives, some of whom had already given birth to children.