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

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

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.

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,

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;

Then they celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. There was great joy throughout the land because the Lord had caused the king of Assyria to be favorable to them, so that he helped them to rebuild the Temple of God, the God of Israel.

And please give me a letter addressed to Asaph, the manager of the king’s forest, instructing him to give me timber. I will need it to make beams for the gates of the Temple fortress, for the city walls, and for a house for myself.” And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me.

Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

But thank God! He has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have.

The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; he guides it wherever he pleases.

How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me.

But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

For God has put a plan into their minds, a plan that will carry out his purposes. They will agree to give their authority to the scarlet beast, and so the words of God will be fulfilled.

“ This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”

Then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly:“ O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever!Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.“ O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name!But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.“ O Lord our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you!I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.“ O Lord, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes.Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.”Then David said to the whole assembly,“ Give praise to the Lord your God!” And the entire assembly praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and knelt before the Lord and the king.The next day they brought 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 male lambs as burnt offerings to the Lord. They also brought liquid offerings and many other sacrifices on behalf of all Israel.They feasted and drank in the Lord’s presence with great joy that day. And again they crowned David’s son Solomon as their new king. They anointed him before the Lord as their leader, and they anointed Zadok as priest.So Solomon took the throne of the Lord in place of his father, David, and he succeeded in everything, and all Israel obeyed him.All the officials, the warriors, and the sons of King David pledged their loyalty to King Solomon.And the Lord exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and he gave Solomon greater royal splendor than any king in Israel before him.So David son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.He reigned over Israel for forty years, seven of them in Hebron and thirty three in Jerusalem.He died at a ripe old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth, and honor. Then his son Solomon ruled in his place.All the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in The Record of Samuel the Seer, The Record of Nathan the Prophet, and The Record of Gad the Seer.These accounts include the mighty deeds of his reign and everything that happened to him and to Israel and to all the surrounding kingdoms.

I slipped out during the night, taking only a few others with me. I had not told anyone about the plans God had put in my heart for Jerusalem. We took no pack animals with us except the donkey I was riding.

“ The glory of Lebanon will be yours— the forests of cypress, fir, and pine— to beautify my sanctuary. My Temple will be glorious!

So my God gave me the idea to call together all the nobles and leaders of the city, along with the ordinary citizens, for registration. I had found the genealogical record of those who had first returned to Judah. This is what was written there: