The Koine Bible

In the first year of Cyrus king of the Persians, for the fulfillment of the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of the Persians, and he proclaimed in all his kingdom, and also by writings, saying:

Thus says Cyrus, king of the Persians: The Lord of Israel, the Lord the Most High, appointed me king of the inhabited world, and he signified to me to build for him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judea.

If any then of you is of his nation, let his lord be with him, and having gone up to Jerusalem, the one in Judea, let him build the house of the Lord of Israel, this Lord who tabernacled in Jerusalem

Therefore let all who dwell in the places help him, those in his place, with gold and with silver, with gifts, with horses and cattle, along with the other things added according to vows for the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem

And there stood up the chiefs of the fathers of the tribes of Judah and of Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, and all whom the Lord stirred up the spirit to go up to build a house for the Lord, the one in Jerusalem

And those around them helped in every way with silver and gold, with horses and cattle, and with very many vows of many things, in which the mind was stirred up.

And King Cyrus brought out the holy vessels of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and set them up in his own idol temple.

And Cyrus the king of the Persians, having brought them out, gave them to Mithridates his treasurer; and through this man they were delivered to Sanabassar, the governor of Judea.

And the number of these was: a thousand golden libation bowls, a thousand silver libation bowls, twenty-nine silver censers.

thirty golden bowls, two thousand four hundred and ten silver, and a thousand other vessels

And all the vessels of gold and silver, four thousand four hundred sixty-nine, were brought up by Sanabassar, together with those from the captivity, from Babylon to Jerusalem

But in the times of Artaxerxes, king of the Persians, Belemus and Mithradates and Tabeellius and Raumus and Beelteemus and Samsaeus the scribe and the rest joining themselves to these, dwelling in Samaria and in the other places, wrote to him against those dwelling in Judea and Jerusalem the following letter.

To King Artaxerxes, our lord, your servants, Raumos who handles matters arising, and Samseios the scribe, and the rest of their council, judges in Coele-Syria and Phoenicia

And now let it be known to the lord king that the Jews, having gone up from you to us, having come to Jerusalem, the rebellious and wicked city, are building both its markets and repairing its walls, and they are laying foundations for the temple

If then this city is built and the walls are completed, they will by no means endure to pay tribute, but they will also resist kings.

And since the things concerning the temple are being carried on well, we consider it good not to overlook such a matter, but to speak to the lord king, so that it may seem good to you to be examined in the books from your fathers.

And you will find in the records the things written concerning these, and you will know that that city was rebellious, and troubling kings and cities, and the Jews rebellious and making sieges in it from of old; for which cause this city also was laid waste

Now therefore we show to you, O lord king, that if this city is built and its walls are raised up, your descent will no longer be into Coele-Syria and Phoenicia.

Then the king wrote in reply to Raum the recorder of the matters coming up, and to Beelteem, and to Samsai the scribe, and to the rest who were set in order and dwelling in Samaria and Syria and Phoenicia, the things written below

I have read the letter which you have sent to me.

I therefore ordered it to be inspected, and it was found that that city has from of old been resisting kings, and the men causing revolts and wars in it.

And there were strong and harsh kings in Jerusalem, ruling and exacting tribute from Coele-Syria and Phoenicia.

Now therefore I have commanded to hinder those men from building the city

and to take care that nothing beyond these things should happen and that the matters of evil should not advance further to trouble the kings

Then, when the writings from King Artaxerxes had been read, Raumus and Sampsaios the scribe and those allied with these, having set out in haste to Jerusalem with horse and array of force, began to hinder those building.

And the building of the temple in Jerusalem was hindered until the second year of the reign of Darius, king of the Persians.