Bible Verses About The Second Temple

In the first year of Koresh king of Persia, in order for the word of ADONAI prophesied by Yirmeyahu to be fulfilled, ADONAI stirred up the spirit of Koresh king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his whole kingdom, which he also put in writing, as follows:

"Here is what Koresh king of Persia says: ADONAI, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms on earth; and he has charged me to build him a house in Yerushalayim, in Y'hudah.

Whoever there is among you of all his people, may his God be with him! He may go up to Yerushalayim, in Y'hudah, and build the house of ADONAI the God of Isra'el, the God who is in Yerushalayim.

Let every survivor, no matter where he lives, be helped by his neighbors with silver, gold, goods and animals, in addition to the voluntary offering for the house of God in Yerushalayim."

In addition, Koresh the king brought out the vessels from the house of ADONAI which N'vukhadnetzar had taken from Yerushalayim and put in the house of his god.

Koresh king of Persia had Mitr'dat the treasurer bring them out and make an inventory of them for Sheshbatzar the prince of Y'hudah.

The list was as follows: Gold basins 30 Silver basins 1,000 Knives 29

Gold bowls 30 Silver bowls of a different kind 410 Other vessels 1,000

In all there were 5,400 articles of gold and silver. Sheshbatzar took all of them along when the exiles were brought up from Bavel to Yerushalayim.

When the seventh month arrived, after the people of Isra'el had resettled in the towns, the people gathered with one accord in Yerushalayim.

Then Yeshua the son of Yotzadak with his fellow cohanim, and Z'rubavel the son of Sh'alti'el with his kinsmen, organized rebuilding the altar of the God of Isra'el; so that they could offer burnt offerings on it, as is written in the Torah of Moshe the man of God.

They set up the altar on its former bases. Despite feeling threatened by the peoples of the [surrounding] countries; they offered on it burnt offerings to ADONAI, the morning and evening burnt offerings.

They observed the festival of Sukkot as written, offering daily the number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day,

and afterwards the regular burnt offering, the offerings for Rosh-Hodesh and those for all the designated times set apart for ADONAI, as well as those of everyone who volunteered a voluntary offering to ADONAI.

From the first day of the seventh month, they began offering burnt offerings to ADONAI, even though the foundation of ADONAI's temple had not yet been laid.

They also gave money for the stone-workers and carpenters, as well as food, drink and olive oil for the people of Tzidon and Tzor bringing cedar logs from the L'vanon to the sea and on to Yafo, in accordance with the authorization granted by Koresh king of Persia.

In the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Yerushalayim, in the second month, Z'rubavel the son of Sh'alti'el, Yeshua the son of Yotzadak, the rest of their kinsmen the cohanim and L'vi'im, and all who had come out of exile to Yerushalayim began the project. They appointed the L'vi'im aged twenty and up to direct work in the house of ADONAI.

Yeshua and his sons and brothers, Kadmi'el and his sons, and Y'hudah's sons together directed the workers in the house of God; also the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their kinsmen the L'vi'im.

When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of ADONAI, the cohanim in their robes, with trumpets, and the L'vi'im the sons of Asaf, with cymbals, took their places to praise ADONAI, as David king of Isra'el had instructed.

They sang antiphonally, praising and giving "thanks to ADONAI, for he is good, for his grace continues forever" toward Isra'el. All the people raised a great shout of praise to ADONAI, because the foundation of the house of ADONAI had been laid.

But many of the cohanim, L'vi'im and heads of fathers' clans, the old men who had seen the first house standing on its foundation, wept out loud when they saw this house; while others shouted out loud for joy -

so that the people couldn't distinguish the noise of the joyful shouting from the noise of the people's weeping; for the people were shouting so loudly that the noise could be heard at a great distance.

When the enemies of Y'hudah and Binyamin heard that the people from the exile were building a temple to ADONAI the God of Isra'el,

they approached Z'rubavel and the heads of fathers' clans and said to them, "Let us build along with you; for we seek your God, just as you do; and we have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esar-Hadon king of Ashur, who brought us here."

But Z'rubavel, Yeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers' clans in Isra'el answered them, "You and we have nothing in common that you should join us in building a house for our God. We will build by ourselves for ADONAI the God of Isra'el, as Koresh king of Persia ordered us to do."