Christmas: Let Heaven and Nature Sing

Child of the King

Dealing With Anxious Thoughts

Pieces of Manna: Surviving Your Wilderness Season

Bible in 90 Days (B90)

Royal Son

Finding Courage in the Storm

Worship Through Advent: A Seasonal Devotional for Your Worship Ministry

Psalm 23: First Nations Version

Giving Back as God Gave to Us

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2CH">
 <div class="chapter ch32" data-usfm="2CH.32">
 <div class="label">32</div><div class="s1">Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem</div><div class="p"> 1After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself. 2When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to wage war against Jerusalem, 3he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city, and they helped him. 4They gathered a large group of people who blocked all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land. &#8220;Why should the kings#32:4 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac king of Assyria come and find plenty of water?&#8221; they said. 5Then he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall and building towers on it. He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the terraces#32:5 Or the Millo of the City of David. He also made large numbers of weapons and shields.</div><div class="p"> 6He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words: 7&#8220;Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. 8With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.&#8221; And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.</div><div class="p"> 9Later, when Sennacherib king of Assyria and all his forces were laying siege to Lachish, he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah king of Judah and for all the people of Judah who were there:</div><div class="pm"> 10&#8220;This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: On what are you basing your confidence, that you remain in Jerusalem under siege? 11When Hezekiah says, &#8216;The Lord our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria,&#8217; he is misleading you, to let you die of hunger and thirst. 12Did not Hezekiah himself remove this god&#8217;s high places and altars, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, &#8216;You must worship before one altar and burn sacrifices on it&#8217;?</div><div class="pm"> 13&#8220;Do you not know what I and my predecessors have done to all the peoples of the other lands? Were the gods of those nations ever able to deliver their land from my hand? 14Who of all the gods of these nations that my predecessors destroyed has been able to save his people from me? How then can your god deliver you from my hand? 15Now do not let Hezekiah deceive you and mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my predecessors. How much less will your god deliver you from my hand!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16Sennacherib&#8217;s officers spoke further against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. 17The king also wrote letters ridiculing the Lord, the God of Israel, and saying this against him: &#8220;Just as the gods of the peoples of the other lands did not rescue their people from my hand, so the god of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my hand.&#8221; 18Then they called out in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to terrify them and make them afraid in order to capture the city. 19They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world&#8212;the work of human hands.</div><div class="p"> 20King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to heaven about this. 21And the Lord sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons, his own flesh and blood, cut him down with the sword.</div><div class="p"> 22So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them#32:22 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate He gave them rest on every side. 23Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the Lord and valuable gifts for Hezekiah king of Judah. From then on he was highly regarded by all the nations.</div><div class="s1">Hezekiah&#8217;s Pride, Success and Death</div><div class="p"> 24In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign. 25But Hezekiah&#8217;s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord&#8217;s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. 26Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord&#8217;s wrath did not come on them during the days of Hezekiah.</div><div class="p"> 27Hezekiah had very great wealth and honor, and he made treasuries for his silver and gold and for his precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuables. 28He also made buildings to store the harvest of grain, new wine and olive oil; and he made stalls for various kinds of cattle, and pens for the flocks. 29He built villages and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds, for God had given him very great riches.</div><div class="p"> 30It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the City of David. He succeeded in everything he undertook. 31But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.</div><div class="p"> 32The other events of Hezekiah&#8217;s reign and his acts of devotion are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 33Hezekiah rested with his ancestors and was buried on the hill where the tombs of David&#8217;s descendants are. All Judah and the people of Jerusalem honored him when he died. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2CH">
 <div class="chapter ch33" data-usfm="2CH.33">
 <div class="label">33</div><div class="s1">Manasseh King of Judah</div><div class="p"> 1Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. 2He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. 3He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. 4He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, &#8220;My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever.&#8221; 5In both courts of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts. 6He sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.</div><div class="p"> 7He took the image he had made and put it in God&#8217;s temple, of which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, &#8220;In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever. 8I will not again make the feet of the Israelites leave the land I assigned to your ancestors, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them concerning all the laws, decrees and regulations given through Moses.&#8221; 9But Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.</div><div class="p"> 10The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. 11So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. 12In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. 13And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.</div><div class="p"> 14Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate and encircling the hill of Ophel; he also made it much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah.</div><div class="p"> 15He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the Lord, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. 16Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. 17The people, however, continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.</div><div class="p"> 18The other events of Manasseh&#8217;s reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel.#33:18 That is, Judah, as frequently in 2 Chronicles 19His prayer and how God was moved by his entreaty, as well as all his sins and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself&#8212;all these are written in the records of the seers.#33:19 One Hebrew manuscript and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts of Hozai 20Manasseh rested with his ancestors and was buried in his palace. And Amon his son succeeded him as king.</div><div class="s1">Amon King of Judah</div><div class="p"> 21Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. 22He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon worshiped and offered sacrifices to all the idols Manasseh had made. 23But unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble himself before the Lord; Amon increased his guilt.</div><div class="p"> 24Amon&#8217;s officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace. 25Then the people of the land killed all who had plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his place.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2CH">
 <div class="chapter ch34" data-usfm="2CH.34">
 <div class="label">34</div><div class="s1">Josiah&#8217;s Reforms</div><div class="p"> 1Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. 2He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.</div><div class="p"> 3In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols. 4Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and smashed the Asherah poles and the idols. These he broke to pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5He burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem. 6In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them, 7he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed the idols to powder and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.</div><div class="p"> 8In the eighteenth year of Josiah&#8217;s reign, to purify the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and Maaseiah the ruler of the city, with Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the temple of the Lord his God.</div><div class="p"> 9They went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the temple of God, which the Levites who were the gatekeepers had collected from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim and the entire remnant of Israel and from all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10Then they entrusted it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the Lord&#8217;s temple. These men paid the workers who repaired and restored the temple. 11They also gave money to the carpenters and builders to purchase dressed stone, and timber for joists and beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into ruin.</div><div class="p"> 12The workers labored faithfully. Over them to direct them were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites descended from Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, descended from Kohath. The Levites&#8212;all who were skilled in playing musical instruments&#8212; 13had charge of the laborers and supervised all the workers from job to job. Some of the Levites were secretaries, scribes and gatekeepers.</div><div class="s1">The Book of the Law Found</div><div class="p"> 14While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the temple of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been given through Moses. 15Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, &#8220;I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.&#8221; He gave it to Shaphan.</div><div class="p"> 16Then Shaphan took the book to the king and reported to him: &#8220;Your officials are doing everything that has been committed to them. 17They have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the supervisors and workers.&#8221; 18Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, &#8220;Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.&#8221; And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.</div><div class="p"> 19When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes. 20He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah,#34:20 Also called Akbor son of Micaiah Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king&#8217;s attendant: 21&#8220;Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord&#8217;s anger that is poured out on us because those who have gone before us have not kept the word of the Lord; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22Hilkiah and those the king had sent with him#34:22 One Hebrew manuscript, Vulgate and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts do not have had sent with him. went to speak to the prophet Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath,#34:22 Also called Tikvah the son of Hasrah,#34:22 Also called Harhas keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.</div><div class="p"> 23She said to them, &#8220;This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, 24&#8216;This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people&#8212;all the curses written in the book that has been read in the presence of the king of Judah. 25Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all that their hands have made,#34:25 Or by everything they have done my anger will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched.&#8217; 26Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, &#8216;This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: 27Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord. 28Now I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place and on those who live here.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p">So they took her answer back to the king.</div><div class="p"> 29Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites&#8212;all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. 31The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord&#8212;to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book.</div><div class="p"> 32Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledge themselves to it; the people of Jerusalem did this in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.</div><div class="p"> 33Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the territory belonging to the Israelites, and he had all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. As long as he lived, they did not fail to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch35" data-usfm="2CH.35">
 <div class="label">35</div><div class="s1">Josiah Celebrates the Passover</div><div class="p"> 1Josiah celebrated the Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2He appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the Lord&#8217;s temple. 3He said to the Levites, who instructed all Israel and who had been consecrated to the Lord: &#8220;Put the sacred ark in the temple that Solomon son of David king of Israel built. It is not to be carried about on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. 4Prepare yourselves by families in your divisions, according to the instructions written by David king of Israel and by his son Solomon.</div><div class="p"> 5&#8220;Stand in the holy place with a group of Levites for each subdivision of the families of your fellow Israelites, the lay people. 6Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves and prepare the lambs for your fellow Israelites, doing what the Lord commanded through Moses.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7Josiah provided for all the lay people who were there a total of thirty thousand lambs and goats for the Passover offerings, and also three thousand cattle&#8212;all from the king&#8217;s own possessions.</div><div class="p"> 8His officials also contributed voluntarily to the people and the priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah and Jehiel, the officials in charge of God&#8217;s temple, gave the priests twenty-six hundred Passover offerings and three hundred cattle. 9Also Konaniah along with Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad, the leaders of the Levites, provided five thousand Passover offerings and five hundred head of cattle for the Levites.</div><div class="p"> 10The service was arranged and the priests stood in their places with the Levites in their divisions as the king had ordered. 11The Passover lambs were slaughtered, and the priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them, while the Levites skinned the animals. 12They set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the subdivisions of the families of the people to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle. 13They roasted the Passover animals over the fire as prescribed, and boiled the holy offerings in pots, caldrons and pans and served them quickly to all the people. 14After this, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat portions until nightfall. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the Aaronic priests.</div><div class="p"> 15The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, were in the places prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun the king&#8217;s seer. The gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their posts, because their fellow Levites made the preparations for them.</div><div class="p"> 16So at that time the entire service of the Lord was carried out for the celebration of the Passover and the offering of burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, as King Josiah had ordered. 17The Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover at that time and observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18The Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel; and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as did Josiah, with the priests, the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem. 19This Passover was celebrated in the eighteenth year of Josiah&#8217;s reign.</div><div class="s1">The Death of Josiah</div><div class="p"> 20After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Necho king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah marched out to meet him in battle. 21But Necho sent messengers to him, saying, &#8220;What quarrel is there, king of Judah, between you and me? It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with which I am at war. God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22Josiah, however, would not turn away from him, but disguised himself to engage him in battle. He would not listen to what Necho had said at God&#8217;s command but went to fight him on the plain of Megiddo.</div><div class="p"> 23Archers shot King Josiah, and he told his officers, &#8220;Take me away; I am badly wounded.&#8221; 24So they took him out of his chariot, put him in his other chariot and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him.</div><div class="p"> 25Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah, and to this day all the male and female singers commemorate Josiah in the laments. These became a tradition in Israel and are written in the Laments.</div><div class="p"> 26The other events of Josiah&#8217;s reign and his acts of devotion in accordance with what is written in the Law of the Lord&#8212; 27all the events, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2CH">
 <div class="chapter ch36" data-usfm="2CH.36">
 <div class="label">36</div><div class="nb"> 1And the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father.</div><div class="s1">Jehoahaz King of Judah</div><div class="p"> 2Jehoahaz#36:2 Hebrew Joahaz, a variant of Jehoahaz; also in verse 4 was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. 3The king of Egypt dethroned him in Jerusalem and imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents#36:3 That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons of silver and a talent#36:3 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms of gold. 4The king of Egypt made Eliakim, a brother of Jehoahaz, king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed Eliakim&#8217;s name to Jehoiakim. But Necho took Eliakim&#8217;s brother Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt.</div><div class="s1">Jehoiakim King of Judah</div><div class="p"> 5Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God. 6Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked him and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. 7Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon articles from the temple of the Lord and put them in his temple#36:7 Or palace there.</div><div class="p"> 8The other events of Jehoiakim&#8217;s reign, the detestable things he did and all that was found against him, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son succeeded him as king.</div><div class="s1">Jehoiachin King of Judah</div><div class="p"> 9Jehoiachin was eighteen#36:9 One Hebrew manuscript, some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac (see also 2 Kings 24:8); most Hebrew manuscripts eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. 10In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon, together with articles of value from the temple of the Lord, and he made Jehoiachin&#8217;s uncle,#36:10 Hebrew brother, that is, relative (see 2 Kings 24:17) Zedekiah, king over Judah and Jerusalem.</div><div class="s1">Zedekiah King of Judah</div><div class="p"> 11Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. 12He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord. 13He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath in God&#8217;s name. He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel. 14Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.</div><div class="s1">The Fall of Jerusalem</div><div class="p"> 15The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. 16But they mocked God&#8217;s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy. 17He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians,#36:17 Or Chaldeans who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and did not spare young men or young women, the elderly or the infirm. God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. 18He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the Lord&#8217;s temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. 19They set fire to God&#8217;s temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there.</div><div class="p"> 20He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power. 21The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.</div><div class="p"> 22In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 23&#8220;This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZR">
 <div class="chapter ch1" data-usfm="EZR.1">
 <div class="label">1</div><div class="s1">Cyrus Helps the Exiles to Return</div><div class="p"> 1In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:</div><div class="pmo"> 2&#8220;This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. 4And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites&#8212;everyone whose heart God had moved&#8212;prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. 6All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings.</div><div class="p"> 7Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god.#1:7 Or gods 8Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.</div><div class="p"> 9This was the inventory:</div><div class="b"></div><table class="table">
 <tr class="row">
 <td class="cell">gold dishes</td>
 <td class="cell">30</td>
</tr>
 <tr class="row">
 <td class="cell">silver dishes</td>
 <td class="cell">1,000</td>
</tr>
 <tr class="row">
 <td class="cell">silver pans#1:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.</td>
 <td class="cell">29</td>
</tr>
 <tr class="row">
 <td class="cell">10gold bowls</td>
 <td class="cell">30</td>
</tr>
 <tr class="row">
 <td class="cell">matching silver bowls</td>
 <td class="cell">410</td>
</tr>
 <tr class="row">
 <td class="cell">other articles</td>
 <td class="cell">1,000</td>
</tr>
</table><div class="b"> </div><div class="p"> 11In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along with the exiles when they came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZR">
 <div class="chapter ch3" data-usfm="EZR.3">
 <div class="label">3</div><div class="s1">Rebuilding the Altar</div><div class="p"> 1When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled together as one in Jerusalem. 2Then Joshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices. 4Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. 5After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred festivals of the Lord, as well as those brought as freewill offerings to the Lord. 6On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, though the foundation of the Lord&#8217;s temple had not yet been laid.</div><div class="s1">Rebuilding the Temple</div><div class="p"> 7Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and gave food and drink and olive oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.</div><div class="p"> 8In the second month of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak and the rest of the people (the priests and the Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work. They appointed Levites twenty years old and older to supervise the building of the house of the Lord. 9Joshua and his sons and brothers and Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Hodaviah#3:9 Hebrew Yehudah, a variant of Hodaviah) and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers&#8212;all Levites&#8212;joined together in supervising those working on the house of God.</div><div class="p"> 10When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the Lord, as prescribed by David king of Israel. 11With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;He is good;</div><div class="q2">his love toward Israel endures forever.&#8221;</div><div class="m">And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. 13No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZR">
 <div class="chapter ch4" data-usfm="EZR.4">
 <div class="label">4</div><div class="s1">Opposition to the Rebuilding</div><div class="p"> 1When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, &#8220;Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, &#8220;You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.#4:4 Or and troubled them as they built 5They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.</div><div class="s1">Later Opposition Under Xerxes and Artaxerxes</div><div class="p"> 6At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes,#4:6 Hebrew Ahasuerus they lodged an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.</div><div class="p"> 7And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic script and in the Aramaic language.#4:7 Or written in Aramaic and translated#4:7 The text of 4:8&#8211;6:18 is in Aramaic.</div><div class="p"> 8Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:</div><div class="pmo"> 9Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, together with the rest of their associates&#8212;the judges, officials and administrators over the people from Persia, Uruk and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa, 10and the other people whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates.</div><div class="p"> 11(This is a copy of the letter they sent him.)</div><div class="pmo">To King Artaxerxes,</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pmo">From your servants in Trans-Euphrates:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm"> 12The king should know that the people who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring the walls and repairing the foundations.</div><div class="pm"> 13Furthermore, the king should know that if this city is built and its walls are restored, no more taxes, tribute or duty will be paid, and eventually the royal revenues will suffer.#4:13 The meaning of the Aramaic for this clause is uncertain. 14Now since we are under obligation to the palace and it is not proper for us to see the king dishonored, we are sending this message to inform the king, 15so that a search may be made in the archives of your predecessors. In these records you will find that this city is a rebellious city, troublesome to kings and provinces, a place with a long history of sedition. That is why this city was destroyed. 16We inform the king that if this city is built and its walls are restored, you will be left with nothing in Trans-Euphrates.</div><div class="p"> 17The king sent this reply:</div><div class="pmo">To Rehum the commanding officer, Shimshai the secretary and the rest of their associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pmo">Greetings.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm"> 18The letter you sent us has been read and translated in my presence. 19I issued an order and a search was made, and it was found that this city has a long history of revolt against kings and has been a place of rebellion and sedition. 20Jerusalem has had powerful kings ruling over the whole of Trans-Euphrates, and taxes, tribute and duty were paid to them. 21Now issue an order to these men to stop work, so that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order. 22Be careful not to neglect this matter. Why let this threat grow, to the detriment of the royal interests?</div><div class="p"> 23As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 24Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZR">
 <div class="chapter ch5" data-usfm="EZR.5">
 <div class="label">5</div><div class="s1">Tattenai&#8217;s Letter to Darius</div><div class="p"> 1Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.</div><div class="p"> 3At that time Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates went to them and asked, &#8220;Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?&#8221; 4They#5:4 See Septuagint; Aramaic We. also asked, &#8220;What are the names of those who are constructing this building?&#8221; 5But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received.</div><div class="p"> 6This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, the officials of Trans-Euphrates, sent to King Darius. 7The report they sent him read as follows:</div><div class="pmo">To King Darius:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pmo">Cordial greetings.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm"> 8The king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timbers in the walls. The work is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction.</div><div class="pm"> 9We questioned the elders and asked them, &#8220;Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?&#8221; 10We also asked them their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.</div><div class="pm"> 11This is the answer they gave us:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm">&#8220;We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished. 12But because our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.</div><div class="pm"> 13&#8220;However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. 14He even removed from the temple#5:14 Or palace of Babylon the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple#5:14 Or palace in Babylon. Then King Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor, 15and he told him, &#8216;Take these articles and go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem. And rebuild the house of God on its site.&#8217;</div><div class="pm"> 16&#8220;So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. From that day to the present it has been under construction but is not yet finished.&#8221;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm"> 17Now if it pleases the king, let a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to see if King Cyrus did in fact issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZR">
 <div class="chapter ch6" data-usfm="EZR.6">
 <div class="label">6</div><div class="s1">The Decree of Darius</div><div class="p"> 1King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives stored in the treasury at Babylon. 2A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it:</div><div class="pmo">Memorandum:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm"> 3In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm">Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid. It is to be sixty cubits#6:3 That is, about 90 feet or about 27 meters high and sixty cubits wide, 4with three courses of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury. 5Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; they are to be deposited in the house of God.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm"> 6Now then, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and you other officials of that province, stay away from there. 7Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site.</div><div class="pm"> 8Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God:</div><div class="pm">Their expenses are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop. 9Whatever is needed&#8212;young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and olive oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem&#8212;must be given them daily without fail, 10so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons.</div><div class="pm"> 11Furthermore, I decree that if anyone defies this edict, a beam is to be pulled from their house and they are to be impaled on it. And for this crime their house is to be made a pile of rubble. 12May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem.</div><div class="pm">I Darius have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence.</div><div class="s1">Completion and Dedication of the Temple</div><div class="p"> 13Then, because of the decree King Darius had sent, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates carried it out with diligence. 14So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. 15The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.</div><div class="p"> 16Then the people of Israel&#8212;the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles&#8212;celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy. 17For the dedication of this house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred male lambs and, as a sin offering#6:17 Or purification offering for all Israel, twelve male goats, one for each of the tribes of Israel. 18And they installed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their groups for the service of God at Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.</div><div class="s1">The Passover</div><div class="p"> 19On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover. 20The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their relatives the priests and for themselves. 21So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the Lord, the God of Israel. 22For seven days they celebrated with joy the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZR">
 <div class="chapter ch7" data-usfm="EZR.7">
 <div class="label">7</div><div class="s1">Ezra Comes to Jerusalem</div><div class="p"> 1After these things, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, 2the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, 3the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, 4the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, 5the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest&#8212; 6this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him. 7Some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers and temple servants, also came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.</div><div class="p"> 8Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. 9He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him. 10For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.</div><div class="s1">King Artaxerxes&#8217; Letter to Ezra</div><div class="p"> 11This is a copy of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law, a man learned in matters concerning the commands and decrees of the Lord for Israel:</div><div class="pmo"> 12Artaxerxes, king of kings,</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pmo">To Ezra the priest, teacher of the Law of the God of heaven:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pmo">Greetings.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm"> 13Now I decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom, including priests and Levites, who volunteer to go to Jerusalem with you, may go. 14You are sent by the king and his seven advisers to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem with regard to the Law of your God, which is in your hand. 15Moreover, you are to take with you the silver and gold that the king and his advisers have freely given to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16together with all the silver and gold you may obtain from the province of Babylon, as well as the freewill offerings of the people and priests for the temple of their God in Jerusalem. 17With this money be sure to buy bulls, rams and male lambs, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and sacrifice them on the altar of the temple of your God in Jerusalem.</div><div class="pm"> 18You and your fellow Israelites may then do whatever seems best with the rest of the silver and gold, in accordance with the will of your God. 19Deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles entrusted to you for worship in the temple of your God. 20And anything else needed for the temple of your God that you are responsible to supply, you may provide from the royal treasury.</div><div class="pm"> 21Now I, King Artaxerxes, decree that all the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates are to provide with diligence whatever Ezra the priest, the teacher of the Law of the God of heaven, may ask of you&#8212; 22up to a hundred talents#7:22 That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons of silver, a hundred cors#7:22 That is, probably about 18 tons or about 16 metric tons of wheat, a hundred baths#7:22 That is, about 600 gallons or about 2,200 liters of wine, a hundred baths#7:22 That is, about 600 gallons or about 2,200 liters of olive oil, and salt without limit. 23Whatever the God of heaven has prescribed, let it be done with diligence for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should his wrath fall on the realm of the king and of his sons? 24You are also to know that you have no authority to impose taxes, tribute or duty on any of the priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers, temple servants or other workers at this house of God.</div><div class="pm"> 25And you, Ezra, in accordance with the wisdom of your God, which you possess, appoint magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the people of Trans-Euphrates&#8212;all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach any who do not know them. 26Whoever does not obey the law of your God and the law of the king must surely be punished by death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.#7:26 The text of 7:12-26 is in Aramaic.</div><div class="p"> 27Praise be to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who has put it into the king&#8217;s heart to bring honor to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem in this way 28and who has extended his good favor to me before the king and his advisers and all the king&#8217;s powerful officials. Because the hand of the Lord my God was on me, I took courage and gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.</div>
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