1st Book of Àzrah — 8
Azrah Arrives in Yahushalam
1 After these things, when Artaxarxas the king of the Parsians was reigning, Azrah came, the son of Sarayahu, son of Azaryahu, son of Hilkyahu, son of Shallum,
2 son of Zaduk, son of Ahitub, son of Amaryahu, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, son of Abishua, son of Phinaas, son of Aleazar, son of Aarun the chief Kuhan.
3 This Azrah came up from Babylun as a scribe skilled in the Turah (law) which was given to Musha by the 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH of Yashar'AL;
4 and the king showed him honor, for he found favor before the king in all his requests.
5 There came up with him to Yahushalam some of the people of Yashar'AL and some of the Kuhanym and Lauym and temple singers and gatekeepers and temple servants,
6 in the seventh year of the reign of Artaxarxas, in the fifth month (this was the king’s seventh year); for they left Babylun on the new moon of the first month and arrived in Yahushalam on the new moon of the fifth month, by the prosperous journey which 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH gave them.
7 For Azrah possessed great knowledge, so that he omitted nothing from the law of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH or the commandments, but taught all Yashar'AL all the ordinances and judgments.
The King’s Mandate
8 The following is a copy of the written commission from Artaxarxas the king which was delivered to Àzrah the Kuhan and reader of the law of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH:
9 “King Artaxarxas to Àzrah the Kuhan and reader of the law of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, greeting.
10 In accordance with my Special decision, I have given orders that those of the Yahudym nation and of the Kuhanym and Lauym and others in our realm, who freely choose to do so, may go with you to Yahushalam.
11 Let as many as are so disposed, therefore, depart with you as I and the seven friends who are my counselors have decided,
12 in order to look into matters in Yahudah and Yahushalam, in accordance with what is in the law of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH,
13 and to carry to Yahushalam the gifts for the 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH of Yashar'AL which I and my friends have vowed, and to collect for 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH in Yahushalam all the gold and silver that may be found in the country of Babylunia,
14 together with what is given by the nation for the temple of their 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH which is in Yahushalam, both gold and silver for bulls and rams and lambs and what goes with them,
15 so as to offer sacrifices upon the altar of their 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH which is in Yahushalam.
16 And whatever you and your brethren are minded to do with the gold and silver, perform it in accordance with the will of your 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH;
17 and deliver the qadash vessels of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH which are given you for the use of the temple of your 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH which is in Yahushalam.
18 And whatever else occurs to you as necessary for the temple of your 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH, you may provide out of the royal treasury.
19 “And I, Artaxarxas the king, have commanded the treasurers of Syria and Phuanicia that whatever Àzrah the Kuhan and reader of the law of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH sends for, they shall take care to give him,
20 up to a hundred talents of silver, and likewise up to a hundred cors of wheat, a hundred baths of wine, and salt in abundance.
21 Let all things prescribed in the law of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH be scrupulously fulfilled for 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, so that wrath may not come upon the kingdom of the king and his sons.
22 You are also informed that no tribute or any other tax is to be laid on any of the Kuhanym or Lauym or temple singers or gatekeepers or temple servants or persons employed in this temple, and that no one has authority to impose any tax upon them.
23 “And you, Àzrah, according to the wisdom of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, appoint judges and justices to judge all those who know the law of your 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH, throughout all Syria and Phuanicia; and those who do not know it you shall teach.
24 And all who transgress the law of your 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH or the law of the kingdom shall be strictly punished, whether by death or some other punishment, either fine or imprisonment.”
Àzrah Yadah YAHUAH
25 Baraked be 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH alone, who put this into the heart of the king, to Esteemed 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH's house which is in Yahushalam,
26 and who honored me in the sight of the king and his counselors and all his friends and nobles.
27 I was encouraged by the help of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH my 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH, and I gathered men from Yashar'AL to go up with me.
The Leaders Who Returned
28 These are the principal men, according to their fathers’ houses and their groups, who went up with me from Babylun, in the reign of Artaxarxas the king:
29 Of the sons of Phineas, Garshum. Of the sons of Ithamar, Gamaal. Of the sons of Daud, Hattush the son of Shacanyahu.
30 Of the sons of Parush, Zacharyahu, and with him a hundred and fifty men enrolled.
31 Of the sons of Pahathmuab, Aliahuanai the son of Zarahyahu, and with him two hundred men.
32 Of the sons of Zattu, Shecanyahu the son of Yahazial, and with him three hundred men. Of the sons of Adin, Ubad the son of Yunathan, and with him two hundred and fifty men.
33 Of the sons of Alam, Yashayahu the son of Guthulyahu, and with him seventy men.
34 Of the sons of Shaphatyahu, Zarayahu the son of Michaal, and with him seventy men,
35 Of the sons of Yuab, Ubadyahu the son of Yahyal, and with him two hundred and twelve men.
36 Of the sons of Bani, Shalumith the son of Yusiphyahu, and with him a hundred and sixty men.
37 Of the sons of Babai, Zacharyahu the son of Babai, and with him twenty-eight men.
38 Of the sons of Azgad, Yuhanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him a hundred and ten men.
39 Of the sons of Adunikam, the last ones, their names being Aliphalat, Yaual, and Shamayahu, and with them seventy men.
40 Of the sons of Bigbai, Uthai the son of Istalcurus, and with him seventy men.
41 I assembled them at the river called Theras, and we encamped there three days, and I inspected them.
42 When I found there none of the sons of the Kuhanym or of the Lauym,
43 I sent word to Aliazar, Idual, Maasmas,
44 Alnathan, Shamayahu, Yarib, Nathan, Alnathan, Zacharyahu, and Mashullam, who were leaders and men of understanding;
45 and I told them to go to Iddu, who was the leading man at the place of the treasury,
46 and ordered them to tell Iddu and his brethren and the treasurers at that place to send us men to serve as Kuhanym in the house of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH.
47 And by the mighty hand of our 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH they brought us competent men of the sons of Mahli the son of Lauy, son of Yashar'AL, namely Sharabyahu with his sons and kinsmen, eighteen;
48 also Hashabyahu and Annunus and Yashayahu his brother, of the sons of Hananyahu, and their sons, twenty men;
49 and of the temple servants, whom Daud and the leaders had given for the service of the Lauym, two hundred and twenty temple servants; the list of all their names was reported.
Àzrah Proclaims a Fast
50 There I proclaimed a fast for the young men before our 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH, to seek from him a prosperous journey for ourselves and for our children and the cattle that were with us.
51 For I was ashamed to ask the king for foot soldiers and horsemen and an escort to keep us safe from our adversaries;
52 for we had said to the king, “The power of our 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH will be with those who seek him, and will support them in every way.”
53 And again we prayed to our 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH about these things, and we found Him very merciful.
The Gifts for the Temple
54 Then I set apart twelve of the leaders of the Kuhanym, Sharabyahu and Hashabyahu, and ten of their kinsmen with them;
55 and I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the Qadash vessels of the house of our 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH, which the king himself and his counselors and the nobles and all Yashar'AL had given.
56 I weighed and gave to them six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels worth a hundred talents, and a hundred talents of gold,
57 and twenty golden bowls, and twelve bronze vessels of fine bronze that glittered like gold.
58 And I said to them, “You are qadash to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, and the vessels are qadash, and the silver and the gold are vowed to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH the 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH of our fathers.
59 Be watchful and on guard until you deliver them to the leaders of the Kuhanym and the Lauym, and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of Yashar'AL in Yahushalam, in the chambers of the house of our 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH.”
60 So the Kuhanym and the Lauym who took the silver and the gold and the vessels which had been in Yahushalam carried them to the temple of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH.
The Return to Yahushalam
61 We departed from the river on the twelfth day of the first month; and we arrived in Yahushalam by the mighty hand of our 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH which was upon us; 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH delivered us from every enemy on the way, and so we came to Yahushalam.
62 When we had been there three days, the silver and the gold were weighed and delivered in the house of our 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH to Maramuth the Kuhan, son of Uryahu;
63 and with him was Alaazar the son of Phinahas, and with them were Yuzabad the son of Yashua and Muath the son of Binnui, the Lauym.
64 The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded at that very time.
65 And those who had come back from captivity offered sacrifices to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, the 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH of Yashar'AL, twelve bulls for all Yashar'AL, ninety-six rams,
66 seventy-two lambs, and as a thank offering twelve he-goats, all as a sacrifice to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH.
67 And they delivered the king’s orders to the royal stewards and to the governors of Cualasyria and Phuanicia; and these officials honored the people and the temple of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH.
Àzrah’s Prayer
68 After these things had been done, the principal men came to me and said,
69 “The people of Yashar'AL and the leaders and the Kuhanym and the Lauym have not put away from themselves the foreign people of the land and their pollutions, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Parizzites, the Yabusites, the Muabites, the Mitzraym, and the Adumites.
70 For they and their sons have married the daughters of these people, and the Qadash race has been mixed with the foreign people of the land; and from the beginning of this matter the leaders and the nobles have been sharing in this iniquity.”
71 As soon as I heard these things I rent my garments and my Qadash mantle, and pulled out hair from my head and beard, and sat down in anxiety and grief.
72 And all who were ever moved at the Dabar of the 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH of Yashar'AL gathered round me, as I mourned over this iniquity, and I sat grief-stricken until the evening sacrifice.
73 Then I rose from my fast, with my garments and my qadash mantle rent, and kneeling down and stretching forth my hands to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH
74 I said, “O 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, I am ashamed and confounded before your face.
75 For our sins have risen higher than our heads, and our mistakes have mounted up to Shamaym
76 from the times of our fathers, and we are in great sin to this day.
77 And because of our sins and the sins of our fathers, with our brethren and our kings and our priests were given over to the kings of the Arath, to the sword and captivity and plundering, in shame until this day.
78 And now in some measure mercy has come to us from You, O 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, to leave to us a root and a Name in your Qadash place,
79 and to uncover a light for us in the house of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH our 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH, and to give us food in the time of our servitude.
80 Even in our bondage we were not forsaken by our 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH, but 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH brought us into favor with the kings of the Pwrsians, so that they have given us food
81 and Esteemed the temple of our 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH, and raised Zion from desolation, to give us a stronghold in Yahudah and Yahushalam.
82 “And now, O 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, what shall we say, when we have these things? For we have transgressed your commandments, which you did give by your servants the Nabym, saying,
83 ‘The land which you are entering to take possession of it is a land polluted with the pollution of the foreigners of the land, and they have filled it with their uncleanness.
84 Therefore do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons, and do not take their daughters for your sons;
85 and do not seek ever to have Shalum with them, in order that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.’
86 And all that has happened to us has come about because of our evil deeds and our great sins. For You, O 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH did lift the burden of our sins
87 and give us such a root as this; but we turned back again to transgress your law by mixing with the uncleanness of the people of the land.
88 Were you not angry enough with us to destroy us without leaving a root or seed or name?
89 O 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH of Yashar'AL, you are true; for we are left as a root to this day.
90 Behold, we are now before you in our iniquities; for we can no longer stand in your presence because of these things.”
The Plan for Ending Mixed Marriages
91 While Àzrah was praying and making his confession, weeping and lying upon the ground before the temple, there gathered about him a very great throng from Yahushalam, men and women and youths; for there was great weeping among the multitude.
92 Then Shacanyahu the son of Yahyal, one of the men of Yashar'AL, called out, and said to Àzrah, “We have sinned against 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land; but even now there is hope for Yashar'AL.
93 Let us take an oath to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH about this, that we will put away all our foreign wives, with their children,
94 as seems good to you and to all who obey the law of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH.
95 Arise and take action, for it is your task, and we are with you to take strong measures.”
96 Then Àzrah arose and had the leaders of the Kuhanym and Lauym of all Yashar'AL take oath that they would do this. And they took the oath.