The Tribes East of the Jordan

¹Now the Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, surveyed the lands of Jazer and Gilead, and they saw that the region was suitable for livestock.

²So the Gadites and Reubenites came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the congregation, and said,

³“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam,Nebo, and Beon,

⁴which the LORD conquered before the congregation of Israel, are suitable for livestock—and your servants have livestock.”

⁵“If we have found favor in your sight,” they said, “let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.”

⁶But Moses asked the Gadites and Reubenites, “Shall your brothers go to war while you sit here?

⁷Why are you discouraging the Israelites from crossing into the land that the LORD has given them?

⁸This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to inspect the land.

⁹For when your fathers went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land that the LORD had given them.

¹⁰So the anger of the LORD was kindled that day, and He swore an oath, saying,

¹¹‘Because they did not follow Me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years of age or older who came out of Egypt will see the land that I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—

¹²not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun—because they did follow the LORD wholeheartedly.’

¹³The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation who had done evil in His sight was gone.

¹⁴Now behold, you, a brood of sinners, have risen up in place of your fathers to further stoke the burning anger of the LORD against Israel.

¹⁵For if you turn away from following Him, He will once again leave this people in the wilderness, and you will be the cause of their destruction.”

¹⁶Then the Gadites and Reubenites approached Moses and said, “We want to build sheepfolds here for our livestock and cities for our little ones.

¹⁷But we will arm ourselves and be readyto go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them into their place. Meanwhile, our little ones will remain in the fortified cities for protection from the inhabitants of the land.

¹⁸We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has taken possession of his inheritance.

¹⁹Yet we will not have an inheritance with them across the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on the east side of the Jordan.”

²⁰Moses replied, “If you will do this—if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for battle,

²¹and if every one of your armed men crosses the Jordan before the LORD, until He has driven His enemies out before Him,

²²then when the land is subdued before the LORD, you may return and be free of obligation to the LORD and to Israel. And this land will belong to you as a possession before the LORD.

²³But if you do not do this, you will certainly sin against the LORD—and be assured that your sin will find you out.

²⁴Build cities for your little ones and folds for your flocks, but do what you have promised.”

²⁵The Gadites and Reubenites said to Moses, “Your servants will do just as our lord commands.

²⁶Our children, our wives, our livestock, and all our animals will remain here in the cities of Gilead.

²⁷But your servants are equipped for war, and every man will cross over to the battle before the LORD, just as our lord says.”

²⁸So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the family leaders of the tribes of Israel.

²⁹And Moses said to them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, with every man armed for battle before the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then you are to give them the land of Gilead as a possession.

³⁰But if they do not arm themselves and go across with you, then they must accept their possession among you in the land of Canaan.”

³¹The Gadites and Reubenites replied, “As the LORD has spoken to your servants, so we will do.

³²We will cross over into the land of Canaan armed before the LORD, that we may have our inheritance on this side of the Jordan.”

³³So Moses gave to the Gadites, to the Reubenites, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan—the land including its cities and the territory surrounding them.

³⁴And the Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,

³⁵Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,

³⁶Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran as fortified cities, and they built folds for their flocks.

³⁷The Reubenites built up Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,

³⁸as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (whose names were changed), and Sibmah. And they renamed the cities they rebuilt.

³⁹The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who were there.

⁴⁰So Moses gave Gilead to the clan of Machir son of Manasseh, and they settled there.

⁴¹Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured their villages and called them Havvoth-jair.

⁴²And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages and called it Nobah, after his own name.

Temple Rebuilding Resumes

¹Later, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son 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 Jeshua son of Jozadakrose up and began to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them.

³At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates,Shethar-bozenai, and their associates went to the Jews and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”

⁴They also asked,“What are the names of the men who are constructing this building?”

⁵But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, so that they were not stopped until a report was sent to Darius and written instructions about this matter were returned.

Tattenai’s Letter to Darius

⁶This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius.

⁷The report they sent him read as follows:To King Darius:All peace.

⁸Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. The people are rebuilding it with large stones and placing timbers in the walls. This work is being carried out diligently and is prospering in their hands.

⁹So we questioned the elders and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”

¹⁰We also asked for their names, so that we could write down the names of their leadersfor your information.

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

¹²But since our fathers angered the God of heaven, He delivered them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean who destroyed this temple and carried away the people to Babylon.

¹³In the first year of his reign, however, Cyrus king of Babylon issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.

¹⁴He also removed from the templeof Babylon the gold and silver articles belonging to the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken and carried there from the temple in Jerusalem. King Cyrus gave these articles to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he appointed governor

¹⁵and instructed, ‘Take these articles, put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site.’

¹⁶So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of the house of God in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been under construction, but it has not yet been completed.”

¹⁷Now, therefore, if it pleases the king, let a search be made of the royal archives in Babylon to see if King Cyrus did indeed issue a decree to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.

The Decree of Darius

¹Thus King Darius ordered a search of the archives stored in the treasury of Babylon.

²And a scroll was found in the fortress of Ecbatana, in the province of Media, with the following written on it:Memorandum:

³In the first year of King Cyrus, he issued a decree concerning the house of God in Jerusalem:Let the house be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices, and let its foundations be firmly laid. It is to be sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide,

⁴with three layers of cut stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid from the royal treasury.

⁵Furthermore, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, must also be returned to the temple in Jerusalem and deposited in the house of God.

⁶Therefore Darius decreed:To Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates,Shethar-bozenai, and your associates and officials in the region:You must stay away from that place!

⁷Leave this work on the house of God alone. Let the governor and elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its original site.

⁸I hereby decree what you must do for these elders of the Jews who are rebuilding this house of God:The cost is to be paid in full to these men from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces west of the Euphrates, so that the work will not be hindered.

⁹Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, as well as wheat, salt, wine, and oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem—must be given to them daily without fail.

¹⁰Then they will be able to offer sacrifices of a sweet aroma to the God of heaven and to pray for the lives of the king and his sons.

¹¹I also decree that if any man interferes with this directive, a beam is to be torn from his house and raised up, and he is to be impaled on it. And his own house shall be made a pile of rubble for this offense.

¹²May God, who has caused His Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to alter this decree or to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem.I, Darius, have issued the decree. Let it be carried out with diligence.

The Temple Completed

¹³In response, Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates diligently carried out what King Darius had decreed.

¹⁴So the Jewish elders built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo.They finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.

¹⁵And this temple was completed on the third day of the month of Adar,in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

Dedication of the Temple

¹⁶Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy.

¹⁷For the dedication of the house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and a sin offering for all Israel of twelve male goats, one for each tribe of Israel.

¹⁸They also appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their groups to the service of God in Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.

The Returned Exiles Keep the Passover

¹⁹On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles kept the Passover.

²⁰All the priests and Levites had purified themselves and were ceremonially clean.And the Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their priestly brothers, and for themselves.

²¹The Israelites who had returned from exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the peoplesof the land to seek the LORD, the God of Israel.

²²For seven days they kept the Feast of Unleavened Breadwith joy, because the LORD had made them joyful and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to strengthen their hands in the work on the house of the God of Israel.

Make a Joyful Noise

¹Make a joyful noise to God,all the earth!

²Sing the glory of His name;make His praise glorious.

³Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds!So great is Your powerthat Your enemies cower before You.

⁴All the earth bows down to You;they sing praise to You;they sing praise to Your name.”Selah

⁵Come and see the works of God;how awesome are His deeds toward mankind.

⁶He turned the sea into dry land;they passed through the waters on foot;there we rejoiced in Him.

⁷He rules forever by His power;His eyes watch the nations.Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.Selah

⁸Bless our God, O peoples;let the sound of His praise be heard.

⁹He preserves our livesand keeps our feet from slipping.

¹⁰For You, O God, have tested us;You have refined us like silver.

¹¹You led us into the net;You laid burdens on our backs.

¹²You let men ride over our heads;we went through fire and water,but You brought us into abundance.

¹³I will enter Your house with burnt offerings;I will fulfill my vows to You—

¹⁴the vows that my lips promisedand my mouth spoke in my distress.

¹⁵I will offer You fatlings as burnt offerings,with the fragrant smoke of rams;I will offer bulls and goats.Selah

¹⁶Come and listen, all you who fear God,and I will declare what He has done for me.

¹⁷I cried out to Him with my mouthand praised Him with my tongue.

¹⁸If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,the Lord would not have listened.

¹⁹But God has surely heard;He has attended to the sound of my prayer.

²⁰Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayeror withheld from me His loving devotion!