Dan. 9:25
25 "Know therefore and understand, That from the going
forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There
shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the
wall, Even in troublesome times.
Ezra 1:2-4
2 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth
the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at
Jerusalem which is in Judah. 3 Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with
him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord
God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. 4 And whoever is left in any place
where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and
livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.
Ezra 6:1-12, 14
Ezra 6:1 Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon. 2 And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written: 3 In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: "Let the house be rebuilt, the place
where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height
sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, 4 with three rows of heavy stones and one row
of new timber. Let the expenses be paid from the king's treasury. 5 Also let the gold and
silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple which is
in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple which is
in Jerusalem, each to its place; and deposit them in the house of God"-- 6 Now
therefore, Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai,
and your companions the Persians who are beyond the River, keep yourselves far from
there. 7 Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the
elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site. 8 Moreover I issue a decree as
to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the building of this house of
God: Let the cost be paid at the king's expense from taxes on the region beyond the
River; this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered. 9 And
whatever they need--young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of
heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests who are in
Jerusalem--let it be given them day by day without fail, 10 that they may offer sacrifices
of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons. 11
Also I issue a decree that whoever alters this edict, let a timber be pulled from his
house and erected, and let him be hanged on it; and let his house be made a refuse heap
because of this. 12 And may the God who causes His name to dwell there destroy any king or
people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this house of God which is in
Jerusalem. I Darius issue a decree; let it be done diligently.....14 And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
Ezra 7:12-26
12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, a scribe of
the Law of the God of heaven: Perfect peace, and so forth. 13 I issue a decree that all
those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go
up to Jerusalem, may go with you. 14 And whereas you are being sent by the king and his
seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, with regard to the Law of your
God which is in your hand; 15 and whereas you are to carry the silver and gold
which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling
is in Jerusalem; 16 and whereas all the silver and gold that you may find in all the
province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and the priests, are
to be freely offered for the house of their God in Jerusalem—17 now therefore, be
careful to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and
their drink offerings, and offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem.
18 And whatever seems good to you and your brethren to do with the rest of the silver and
the gold, do it according to the will of your God. 19 Also the articles that are given to
you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem.
20 And whatever more may be needed for the house of your God, which you may have occasion
to provide, pay for it from the king's treasury. 21 And I, even I, Artaxerxes the
king, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the region beyond the River,
that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of
you, let it be done diligently, 22 up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred kors
of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribed
limit. 23 Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it diligently be done for the
house of the God of heaven. For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king
and his sons? 24 Also we inform you that it shall not be lawful to impose tax, tribute, or
custom on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, or servants of
this house of God. 25 And you, Ezra, according to your God-given wisdom, set magistrates
and judges who may judge all the people who are in the region beyond the River,
all such as know the laws of your God; and teach those who do not know them. 26 Whoever
will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed
speedily on him, whether it be death, or banishment, or confiscation of goods, or
imprisonment.
Neh. 2:1-8
1 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth
year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to
the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. 2 Therefore the king said to
me, "Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow
of heart." So I became dreadfully afraid, 3 and said to the king, "May the king
live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers'
tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?" 4 Then the king said to me,
"What do you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the
king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I
ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild
it." 6 Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), "How long
will your journey be? And when will you return?" So it pleased the king to send me;
and I set him a time. 7 Furthermore I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let
letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they
must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, 8 "and a letter to Asaph the
keeper of the king's forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of
the citadel which [pertains] to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I
will occupy." And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God
upon me.