So here is what I, Ezra, say to you people of Israel.“ Give praise to the Lord. He is the God of our people who lived long ago. He has put it in the king’s heart to bring honor to the Lord’ s temple in Jerusalem. The king has honored the Lord in his letter.

以斯拉说：“耶和华我们列祖的神是应当称颂的！因他使王起这心意修饰耶路撒冷耶和华的殿，

以斯拉说：“耶和华—我们列祖的上帝是应当称颂的！因他使王起这心愿，使耶路撒冷耶和华的殿得荣耀，

以斯拉说：“耶和华—我们列祖的神是应当称颂的！因他使王起这心愿，使耶路撒冷耶和华的殿得荣耀，

以斯拉说：“我们祖先的上帝耶和华当受赞美！因为祂使王有这样的心意尊崇耶路撒冷耶和华的殿。

以斯拉说：“耶和华我们列祖的神是应该称颂的，因为他把这样的意念放在君王的心里，使他修饰那在耶路撒冷的耶和华的殿；

以斯拉說：「耶和華－我們列祖的神是應當稱頌的！因他使王起這心意修飾耶路撒冷耶和華的殿，

以斯拉說：「耶和華－我們列祖的上帝是應當稱頌的！因他使王起這心願，使耶路撒冷耶和華的殿得榮耀，

以斯拉說：「耶和華－我們列祖的神是應當稱頌的！因他使王起這心願，使耶路撒冷耶和華的殿得榮耀，

以斯拉說：「我們祖先的上帝耶和華當受讚美！因為祂使王有這樣的心意尊崇耶路撒冷耶和華的殿。

以斯拉說：“耶和華我們列祖的神是應該稱頌的，因為他把這樣的意念放在君王的心裡，使他修飾那在耶路撒冷的耶和華的殿；

永恆主我們列祖的上帝是當受祝頌的，因為他將這樣的意思放在王的心意中，使他去修飾那在耶路撒冷的永恆主之殿；

我列祖之上帝耶和華、宜頌美焉、彼置此意於王心、修飾耶和華室、在耶路撒冷、

以士喇曰、當頌讚列祖之上帝耶和華、感動王心、修葺耶路撒冷之殿、

以斯拉曰、當頌美主我列祖之天主、因感格王心、增榮耀於耶路撒冷之主殿、

Praise be to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who has put it into the king’s heart to bring honor to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem in this way

Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem,

Praise the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who made the king want to beautify the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem!

Blessed be the LORD, the God of our ancestors, who has put it into the king’s mind to glorify the house of the LORD in Jerusalem,

Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to glorify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem,

Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem,

Blessed be Jehovah, the God of our fathers, who hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of Jehovah which is in Jerusalem;

Praise Yahweh the God of our fathers, who has put it into the king’s mind to glorify the house of the Lord in Jerusalem,

Blessed[ be] the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put[ such a thing] as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which[ is] in Jerusalem:

Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, who so moved in the heart of the king to so honor the temple of the LORD which is in Jerusalem!

Blessed be Yahweh, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify Yahweh’s house which is in Jerusalem;

For seven days they celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread with joy. That’s because the Lord had filled them with joy. They were glad because he had changed the mind of the king of Persia. So the king had helped them with the work on the house of the God of Israel.

May I also have a letter to Asaph? He takes care of the royal park. I want him to give me some logs so I can make beams out of them. I want to use them for the gates of the fort that is by the temple. Some of the logs will also be used in the city wall. And I’ll need some for the house I’m going to live in.” God was kind to me and helped me. So the king gave me what I asked for.

Every good and perfect gift is from God. This kind of gift comes down from the Father who created the heavenly lights. These lights create shadows that move. But the Father does not change like these shadows.

God put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. Thanks should be given to God for this.

In the Lord’ s hand the king’s heart is like a stream of water. The Lord directs it toward all those who please him.

At last you are concerned about me again. That makes me very happy. We belong to the Lord. I know that you were concerned. But you had no chance to show it.

This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds. I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God. And they will be my people.

God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose. So they agreed to give the beast their royal authority. They will give him this authority until God’s words come true.

“ This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts. I will write my laws on their minds.”( Jeremiah 31:33)

David praised the Lord in front of the whole community. He said,“ Lord, we give you praise. You are the God of our father Israel. We give you praise for ever and ever.Lord, you are great and powerful. Glory, majesty and beauty belong to you. Everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you. Lord, the kingdom belongs to you. You are honored as the one who rules over all.Wealth and honor come from you. You are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power. You can give honor and strength to everyone.Our God, we give you thanks. We praise your glorious name.“ But who am I? And who are my people? Without your help we wouldn’t be able to give this much. Everything comes from you. We’ve given back to you only what comes from you.We are outsiders and strangers in your sight. So were all of our people who lived long ago. Our days on this earth are like a shadow. We don’t have any hope.Lord our God, we’ve given more than enough. We’ve provided it to build you a temple where you will put your holy Name. But all of it comes from you. All of it belongs to you.My God, I know that you tested our hearts. And you are pleased when we are honest. I’ve given all these things just because I wanted to. When I did it, I was completely honest with you. Your people here have also been willing to give to you. And I’ve been happy to see this.Lord, you are the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel. Keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever. Keep their hearts faithful to you.Help my son Solomon serve you with all his heart. Then he will keep your commands and rules. He will do what you require. He’ll do everything to build the grand and wonderful temple I’ve provided for.”Then David said to the whole community,“ Praise the Lord your God.” So all of them praised the Lord. He’s the God of their people who lived long ago. The whole community bowed low. They fell down flat with their faces toward the ground. They did it in front of the Lord and the king.The next day they offered sacrifices to the Lord. They brought burnt offerings to him. They sacrificed 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams and 1,000 male lambs. They also brought the required drink offerings. And they offered many other sacrifices for the whole community of Israel.They ate and drank with great joy that day. They did it in front of the Lord. Then they announced a second time that Solomon was king. He was the son of David. They anointed Solomon in front of the Lord. They anointed him to be ruler. They also anointed Zadok to be priest.So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord. He ruled as king in place of his father David. Things went well with him. All the people of Israel obeyed him.All the officers and warriors promised to be completely faithful to King Solomon. So did all of King David’s sons.The Lord greatly honored Solomon in the sight of all the people. He gave him royal majesty. Solomon was given more glory than any king over Israel ever had before.David was king over the whole nation of Israel. He was the son of Jesse.He ruled over Israel for 40 years. He ruled for seven years in Hebron and for 33 years in Jerusalem.He died when he was very old. He had enjoyed a long life. He had enjoyed wealth and honor. David’s son Solomon became the next king after him.The events of King David’s rule from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the records of Samuel, Nathan and Gad, the prophets.The records tell all about David’s rule and power. They tell about what happened concerning him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands.

Then at night I took a few other people with me to check out the walls. I hadn’t told anyone what my God wanted me to do for Jerusalem. There weren’t any donkeys with me except the one I was riding on.

“ Lebanon’s glorious trees will be brought to you. Its junipers, firs and cypress trees will be brought. They will be used to make my temple beautiful. And I will bring glory to the place where my throne is.

So my God gave me the idea and encouraged me to gather the people together. He also encouraged me to gather the nobles and officials together with them. He wanted me to list them by families. I found the family history of those who had been the first to return. Here is what I found written in it.