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JULY 21
10 When the builders laid the foundation of God; but we alone will build to the LORD God
the temple of the LORD, the priests stood in of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has
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their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, commanded us.” Then the people of the land
the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the tried to discourage the people of Judah. They
LORD, according to the ordinance of David troubled them in building, and hired coun-
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king of Israel. And they sang responsively, selors against them to frustrate their purpose
praising and giving thanks to the LORD: all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until
the reign of Darius king of Persia.
“For He is good, 6 In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning
For His mercy endures forever toward of his reign, they wrote an accusation against
Israel.”
the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
Then all the people shouted with a great shout, 7 In the days of Artaxerxes also, Bishlam,
when they praised the LORD, because the foun- Mithredath, Tabel, and the rest of their com-
dation of the house of the LORD was laid. panions wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia;
12 But many of the priests and Levites and and the letter was written in Aramaic script,
heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had and translated into the Aramaic language.
seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice 8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the
when the foundation of this temple was laid scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King
before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for Artaxerxes in this fashion:
joy, so that the people could not discern the 9 From Rehum the commander, Shimshai
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noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the the scribe, and the rest of their
weeping of the people, for the people shouted companions—representatives of the
with a loud shout, and the sound was heard Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the
afar off.
Tarpelites, the people of Persia and
Erech and Babylon and Shushan, the
Dehavites, the Elamites, and the rest
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of the nations whom the great and noble
3:12 the first temple. The temple built by Osnapper took captive and settled in the
Solomon (1 Kin.5–7).wept with a loud voice. cities of Samaria and the remainder
The first temple had been destroyed 50 years beyond the River—and so forth.
earlier. The old men, who would have been 11
about 60 years or older, knew that this second (This is a copy of the letter that they sent him)
temple did not begin to match the splendor of To King Artaxerxes from your
Solomon’s temple nor did the presence of servants, the men of the region beyond
God reside within it (Hag. 2:1–4; Zech. 4:9,10). the River, and so forth:
The nation was small and weak, the temple
smaller and less beautiful by far.There were no 12 Let it be known to the king that the
riches as in David and Solomon’s days.The ark Jews who came up from you have
was gone. But most disappointing was the come to us at Jerusalem, and are
absence of God’s Shekinah glory. Thus the building the rebellious and evil city,
weeping. shouted…for joy. For those who and are finishing its walls and repairing
did not have a point of comparison, this was a the foundations. Let it now be known
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great moment.Possibly Psalm 126 was written to the king that, if this city is built and
and sung for this occasion. the walls completed, they will not pay
tax, tribute, or custom, and the king’s
treasury will be diminished. Now
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Now when the adversaries of Judah and because we receive support from the
4 Benjamin heard that the descendants of palace, it was not proper for us to see
the captivity were building the temple of the the king’s dishonor; therefore we have
LORD God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel sent and informed the king, that
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and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said search may be made in the book of the
to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek records of your fathers. And you will
your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to find in the book of the records and
Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of As- know that this city is a rebellious city,
syria, who brought us here.” But Zerubbabel harmful to kings and provinces, and
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and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the that they have incited sedition within
fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “You may the city in former times, for which
do nothing with us to build a house for our cause this city was destroyed.
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