Rebuilding The Temple


That the promise made by Jehovah through the mouth of Jeremiah might be

fulfilled, Jehovah influenced Cyrus, king of Persia, in the first year

of his reign to make this written law throughout all his kingdom, "Thus

commands Cyrus, king of Persia: 'Jehovah, the God of heaven, has given

me all the kingdoms of the earth and has charged me to build him a

temple in Jerusalem in Judah. Whoever among you of all his people wishes

/> to return, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, in

Judah, and rebuild the temple of Jehovah, the God of Israel. (He is the

God who lives at Jerusalem.) In every place where any who are left of

Jehovah's people now live, let the men of that place help with silver,

with gold, with goods, and with animals, in addition to the offering

each man wishes to give for the house of God at Jerusalem.'"





Then the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin and the priests

and the Levites, including all whom God had influenced to build the

temple of Jehovah at Jerusalem, started to return. And all their

neighbors supplied them with silver, with gold, with goods, with

animals, and with precious things in addition to all that each man

wished to give.



Cyrus, king of Persia, had the vessels of the temple of Jehovah, which

Nebuchadrezzar had carried from Jerusalem, brought out under the

direction of Mithredath, the treasurer, and given to Sheshbazzar, the

prince of Judah; and he carried them to Jerusalem, with the people who

returned from captivity in Babylon. And Jehovah commanded them, through

Haggai, the prophet, "Go up to the mountains and bring wood and rebuild

the temple, then I will be pleased with it and I will show my glory."



Then Zerubbabel and Joshua, the high priest, with all the rest of the

people obeyed the command of Jehovah their God; and they came and worked

on the temple of Jehovah their God. They finished the building as the

God of Israel commanded.



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