Adversaries Hinder the Work

¹When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the LORD, the God of Israel,

²they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the families, saying, “Let us build with you because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to Him since the time of King Esar-haddon of Assyria, who brought us here.”

³But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other heads of the families of Israel replied, “You have no part with us in building a house for our God, since we alone must build it for the LORD, the God of Israel, as Cyrus king of Persia has commanded us.”

⁴Then the people of the land set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to build.

⁵They hired counselors against them to frustrate their plans throughout the reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Opposition under Xerxes and Artaxerxes

⁶At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes,an accusation was lodged against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

⁷And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. It was written in Aramaic and then translated.

⁸Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote the letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:

⁹From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates—the judges and officials over Tripolis, Persia, Erech and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,

¹⁰and the rest of the peoples whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipaldeported and settled in the cities of Samaria and elsewhere west of the Euphrates.

¹¹(This is the text of the letter they sent to him.)To King Artaxerxes,From your servants, the men west of the Euphrates:

¹²Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you to us have returned to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring its walls and repairing its foundations.

¹³Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, they will not pay tribute, duty, or toll, and the royal treasury will suffer.

¹⁴Now because we are in the service of the palaceand it is not fitting for us to allow the king to be dishonored, we have sent to inform the king

¹⁵that a search should be made of the record books of your fathers. In these books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, inciting sedition from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed.

¹⁶We advise the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, you will have no dominion west of the Euphrates.

The Decree of Artaxerxes

¹⁷Then the king sent this reply:To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of your associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in the region west of the Euphrates:Greetings.

¹⁸The letter you sent us has been translated and read in my presence.

¹⁹I issued a decree, and a search was conducted. It was discovered that this city has revolted against kings from ancient times, engaging in rebellion and sedition.

²⁰And mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region west of the Euphrates; and tribute, duty, and toll were paid to them.

²¹Now, therefore, issue an order for these men to stop, so that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order.

²²See that you do not neglect this matter. Why allow this threat to increase and the royal interests to suffer?

²³When the text of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and forcibly stopped them.

²⁴Thus the construction of the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Abraham, Sarah, and Abimelech

¹Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,

²Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.

³One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”

⁴Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he replied, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent?

⁵Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.”

⁶Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her.

⁷Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and all who belong to you.”

⁸Early the next morning Abimelech got up and summoned all his servants; and when he described to them all that had happened, the men were terrified.

⁹Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.”

¹⁰Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do such a thing?”

¹¹Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’

¹²Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father—though not the daughter of my mother—and she became my wife.

¹³So when God had me journey from my father’s house, I said to Sarah, ‘This is how you can show your loyalty to me: Wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

¹⁴So Abimelech brought sheep and cattle, menservants and maidservants, and he gave them to Abraham and restored his wife Sarah to him.

¹⁵And Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you please.”

¹⁶And he said to Sarah, “See, I am giving your brother a thousand pieces of silver.It is your vindication before all who are with you; you are completely cleared.”

¹⁷Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they could again bear children—

¹⁸for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household.

God’s Glory Exits the Temple

¹And I looked and saw above the expanse, above the heads of the cherubim, the likeness of a throne of sapphire.

²And the LORD said to the man clothed in linen, “Go inside the wheelwork beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in.

³Now when the man went in, the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple, and a cloud filled the inner court.

⁴Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and stood over the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD.

⁵The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almightywhen He speaks.

⁶When the LORD commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel.

⁷Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand and took some of the fire that was among them. And he put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who received it and went out.

⁸(The cherubim appeared to have the form of human hands under their wings.)

⁹Then I looked and saw four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub. And the wheels gleamed like a beryl stone.

¹⁰As for their appearance, all four had the same form, like a wheel within a wheel.

¹¹When they moved, they would go in any of the four directions, without turning as they moved. For wherever the head faced, the cherubim would go in that direction, without turning as they moved.

¹²Their entire bodies, including their backs, hands, and wings, were full of eyes all around, as were their four wheels.

¹³I heard the wheels being called “the whirling wheels.”

¹⁴Each of the cherubim had four faces: the first face was that of a cherub, the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.

¹⁵Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the River Kebar.

¹⁶When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them, and even when they spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not veer away from their side.

¹⁷When the cherubim stood still, the wheels also stood still, and when they ascended, the wheels ascended with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

¹⁸Then the glory of the LORD moved away from the threshold of the temple and stood above the cherubim.

¹⁹As I watched, the cherubim lifted their wings and rose up from the ground, with the wheels beside them as they went. And they stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the LORD, with the glory of the God of Israel above them.

²⁰These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the River Kebar, and I knew that they were cherubim.

²¹Each had four faces and four wings, with what looked like human hands under their wings.

²²Their faces looked like the faces I had seen by the River Kebar. Each creature went straight ahead.

The Triumphant Messiah

¹Why do the nations rageand the peoples plot in vain?

²The kings of the earth take their standand the rulers gather together,against the LORDand against His Anointed One:

³“Let us break Their chainsand cast away Their cords.”

⁴The One enthroned in heaven laughs;the Lord taunts them.

⁵Then He rebukes them in His anger,and terrifies them in His fury:

⁶“I have installed My King on Zion,upon My holy mountain.”

⁷I will proclaim the decreespoken to Me by the LORD:“You are My Son;today I have become Your Father.

⁸Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance,the ends of the earth Your possession.

⁹You will break themwith an iron scepter;You will shatter them like pottery.”

¹⁰Therefore be wise, O kings;be admonished, O judges of the earth.

¹¹Serve the LORD with fear,and rejoice with trembling.

¹²Kiss the Son, lest He be angryand you perish in your rebellion,when His wrath ignites in an instant.Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.