The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV

by John MacArthur

  41The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and twenty-eight.

  42The sons of the gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-nine in all.

  43jThe Nethinim: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,

  44the sons of Keros, the sons of 11Siaha, the sons of Padon,

  45the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub,

  46the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shalmai, the sons of Hanan,

  47the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah,

  48the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam,

  49the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai,

  50the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of 12Nephusim,

  51the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,

  52the sons of 13Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha,

  53the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Tamah,

  54the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha. Routes of the Jews’ Returns

  55The sons of kSolomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of lSophereth, the sons of 14Peruda,

  56the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,

  57the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth of Zebaim, and the sons of 15Ami.

  58All the mNethinim and the children of nSolomon’s servants were three hundred and ninety-two.

  59And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, 16Addan, and Immer; but they could not 17identify their father’s house or their 18genealogy, whether they were of Israel:

  60the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two;

  61and of the sons of the priests: the sons of oHabaiah, the sons of 19Koz, and the sons of pBarzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name.

  62These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but they were not found; qtherefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled.

  63And the 20governor said to them that they rshould not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the sUrim and Thummim.

  64tThe whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty,

  65besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred men and women singers.

  66Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five,

  67their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and their donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty.

  68uSome of the heads of the fathers’ houses, when they came to the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God, to erect it in its place:

  69According to their ability, they gave to the vtreasury for the work sixty-one thousand gold drachmas, five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priestly garments.

  70wSo the priests and the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.

  Ezra 3

  Worship Restored at Jerusalem

  1And when the aseventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem.

  2Then 1Jeshua the son of bJozadak2 and his brethren the priests, cand Zerubbabel the son of dShealtiel and his brethren, arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is ewritten in the Law of Moses the man of God.

  3Though fear had come upon them because of the people of those countries, they set the altar on its 3bases; and they offered fburnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening burnt offerings.

  4gThey also kept the Feast of Tabernacles, has it is written, and ioffered the daily burnt offerings in the number required by ordinance for each day.

  5Afterwards they offered the jregular burnt offering, and those for New Moons and for all the appointed feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and those of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to the LORD.

  6From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, although the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not been laid.

  7They also gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and kfood, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to the sea, to lJoppa, maccording to the permission which they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

  Restoration of the Temple Begins

  8Now in the second month of the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, nZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of 4Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began work oand appointed the Levites from twenty years old and above to oversee the work of the house of the LORD.

  9Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of 5Judah, arose as one to oversee those working on the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brethren the Levites.

  10When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, pthe6 priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the qordinance7 of David king of Israel.

  11rAnd they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD:

  s“For He is good,

  t For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.”

  Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

  12But many of the priests and Levites and uheads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy,

  13so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off.

  Ezra 4

  Resistance to Rebuilding the Temple

  1Now when athe 1adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the LORD God of Israel,

  2they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him bsince the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”

  3But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, c“You may do nothing with us to build a 2house for our God; but we alone will build to the LORD God of Israel, as dKing Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

  4Then ethe people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building,

  5and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of fDarius king of Persia.

  Rebuilding of Jerusalem Opposed

  6In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

  7In the days of gArtaxerxes also, 3Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabel, and the rest of their companions wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the letter was written in hAramaic script, and translated into the Aramaic language.

  84Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes in this fashion:

  95From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions—representatives of ithe Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the people of Persia and Erech and Babylon and 6Shushan, the Dehavites, the Elamites,

  10jand the rest of the nati
ons whom the great and noble Osnapper took captive and settled in the cities of Samaria and the remainder beyond 7the River—kand8 so forth.

  11(This is a copy of the letter that they sent him)

  To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men of the region beyond the River, 9and so forth:

  12Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem, and are building the lrebellious and evil city, and are finishing its mwalls and repairing the foundations.

  13Let it now be known to the king that, if this city is built and the walls completed, they will not pay ntax, tribute, or custom, and the king’s treasury will be diminished.

  14Now because we receive support from the palace, it was not proper for us to see the king’s dishonor; therefore we have sent and informed the king,

  15that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. And you will find in the book of the records and know that this city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, and that they have incited sedition within the city in former times, for which cause this city was destroyed.

  16We inform the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, the result will be that you will have no dominion beyond the River.

  17The king sent an answer:

  To Rehum the commander, to Shimshai the scribe, to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria, and to the remainder beyond the River:

  Peace, 10and so forth.

  18The letter which you sent to us has been clearly read before me.

  19And 11I gave the command, and a search has been made, and it was found that this city in former times has revolted against kings, and rebellion and sedition have been fostered in it.

  20There have also been mighty kings over Jerusalem, who have oruled over all the region pbeyond the River; and tax, tribute, and custom were paid to them.

  21Now 12give the command to make these men cease, that this city may not be built until the command is given by me.

  22Take heed now that you do not fail to do this. Why should damage increase to the hurt of the kings?

  23Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem against the Jews, and by force of arms made them cease.

  24Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

  Ezra 5

  Restoration of the Temple Resumed

  (Hab. 1:1; Zech. 1:1)

  1Then the prophet aHaggai and bZechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.

  2So cZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of 1Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and dthe prophets of God were with them, helping them.

  3At the same time eTattenai the governor of the region beyond 2the River and Shethar-Boznai and their companions came to them and spoke thus to them: f“Who has commanded you to build this 3temple and finish this wall?”

  4gThen, accordingly, we told them the names of the men who were constructing this building.

  5But hthe eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius. Then a iwritten answer was returned concerning this matter.

  6This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai sent:

  The governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, jand his companions, the Persians who were in the region beyond the River, to Darius the king.

  7(They sent a letter to him, in which was written thus)

  To Darius the king:

  All peace.

  8Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judea, to the 4temple of the great God, which is being built with 5heavy stones, and timber is being laid in the walls; and this work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands.

  9Then we asked those elders, and spoke thus to them: k“Who commanded you to build this temple and to finish these walls?”

  10We also asked them their names to inform you, that we might write the names of the men who were chief among them.

  11And thus they returned us an answer, saying: “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the 6temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built land completed.

  12“But mbecause our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of nNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and ocarried the people away to Babylon.

  13“However, in the first year of pCyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to build this 7house of God.

  14“Also, qthe gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple that was in Jerusalem and carried into the temple of Babylon—those King Cyrus took from the temple of Babylon, and they were given to rone named Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor.

  15“And he said to him, ‘Take these articles; go, carry them to the temple site that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its former site.’

  16“Then the same Sheshbazzar came and slaid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem; but from that time even until now it has been under construction, and tit is not finished.”

  17Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, ulet a search be made in the king’s treasure house, which is there in Babylon, whether it is so that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send us his pleasure concerning this matter.

  Ezra 6

  The Decree of Darius

  1Then King Darius issued a decree, aand a search was made in the 1archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. The Persian Empire

  2And at 2Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of bMedia, a scroll was found, and in it a record was written thus:

  3In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a cdecree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: “Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits,

  4dwith three rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the eexpenses be paid from the king’s treasury.

  5Also let fthe gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple which is in Jerusalem, each to its place; and deposit them in the house of God”—

  6gNow therefore, Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and your companions the Persians who are beyond the River, keep yourselves far from there.

  7Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site.

  8Moreover I issue a decree as to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the building of this 3house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king’s expense from taxes on the region beyond the River; this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered.

  9And whatever they need—young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests who are in Jerusalem—let it be given them day by day without fail,

  10hthat they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons.

  11Also I issue a decree that whoever alters this edict, let a timber be pulled from his house and erected, and let him be hanged on it; iand let his house be made a refuse heap because of this.

  12And may the God who causes His jname to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this 4house of God which is in Jerusalem. I Darius issue a decree; let it be done diligen
tly.

  The Temple Completed and Dedicated

  13Then Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions diligently did according to what King Darius had sent.

  14kSo the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the 5command of lCyrus, mDarius, and nArtaxerxes king of Persia.

  15Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

  16Then the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the descendants of the captivity, celebrated othe dedication of this 6house of God with joy.

  17And they poffered sacrifices at the dedication of this house of God, one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

  18They assigned the priests to their qdivisions and the Levites to their rdivisions, over the service of God in Jerusalem, sas it is written in the Book of Moses.

  The Passover Celebrated

  (cf. Deut. 16:1–8)

  197And the descendants of the captivity kept the Passover ton the fourteenth day of the first month.

  20For the priests and the Levites had upurified themselves; all of them were ritually clean. And they vslaughtered the Passover lambs for all the descendants of the captivity, for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.

  21Then the children of Israel who had returned from the captivity ate together with all who had separated themselves from the wfilth8 of the nations of the land in order to seek the LORD God of Israel.

  22And they kept the xFeast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for the LORD made them joyful, and yturned the heart zof the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

  Ezra 7