en_KJV1769D - 1Ez 3 - Ozzuu Bible

¹ And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.

² Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.

³ And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening.

⁴ They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required;

⁵ And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD.

⁶ From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid.

⁷ They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.

⁸ Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD.

⁹ Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites.

¹⁰ And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel.

¹¹ And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

¹² But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:

¹³ So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.

¹ Now when Darius reigned, he made a great feast unto all his subjects, and unto all his household, and unto all the princes of Media and Persia,

² And to all the governors and captains and lieutenants that were under him, from India unto Ethiopia, of an hundred twenty and seven provinces.

³ And when they had eaten and drunken, and being satisfied were gone home, then Darius the king went into his bedchamber, and slept, and soon after awaked.

⁴ Then three young men, that were of the guard that kept the king's body, spake one to another;

⁵ Let every one of us speak a sentence: he that shall overcome, and whose sentence shall seem wiser than the others, unto him shall the king Darius give great gifts, and great things in token of victory:

⁶ As, to be clothed in purple, to drink in gold, and to sleep upon gold, and a chariot with bridles of gold, and an headtire of fine linen, and a chain about his neck:

⁷ And he shall sit next to Darius because of his wisdom, and shall be called Darius his cousin.

⁸ And then every one wrote his sentence, sealed it, and laid it under king Darius his pillow;

⁹ And said that, when the king is risen, some will give him the writings; and of whose side the king and the three princes of Persia shall judge that his sentence is the wisest, to him shall the victory be given, as was appointed.

¹⁰ The first wrote, Wine is the strongest.

¹¹ The second wrote, The king is strongest.

¹² The third wrote, Women are strongest: but above all things Truth beareth away the victory.

¹³ Now when the king was risen up, they took their writings, and delivered them unto him, and so he read them:

¹⁴ And sending forth he called all the princes of Persia and Media, and the governors, and the captains, and the lieutenants, and the chief officers;

¹⁵ And sat him down in the royal seat of judgment; and the writings were read before them.

¹⁶ And he said, Call the young men, and they shall declare their own sentences. So they were called, and came in.

¹⁷ And he said unto them, Declare unto us your mind concerning the writings. Then began the first, who had spoken of the strength of wine;

¹⁸ And he said thus, O ye men, how exceeding strong is wine! it causeth all men to err that drink it:

¹⁹ It maketh the mind of the king and of the fatherless child to be all one; of the bondman and of the freeman, of the poor man and of the rich:

²⁰ It turneth also every thought into jollity and mirth, so that a man remembereth neither sorrow nor debt:

²¹ And it maketh every heart rich, so that a man remembereth neither king nor governor; and it maketh to speak all things by talents:

²² And when they are in their cups, they forget their love both to friends and brethren, and a little after draw out swords:

²³ But when they are from the wine, they remember not what they have done.

²⁴ O ye men, is not wine the strongest, that enforceth to do thus? And when he had so spoken, he held his peace.

²⁵ When this was done many years, then they that inhabited the city forsook thee,

²⁶ And in all things did even as Adam and all his generations had done: for they also had a wicked heart:

²⁷ And so thou gavest thy city over into the hands of thine enemies.

²⁸ Are their deeds then any better that inhabit Babylon, that they should therefore have the dominion over Sion?

²⁹ For when I came thither, and had seen impieties without number, then my soul saw many evildoers in this thirtieth year, so that my heart failed me.

³⁰ For I have seen how thou sufferest them sinning, and hast spared wicked doers: and hast destroyed thy people, and hast preserved thine enemies, and hast not signified it.

³¹ I do not remember how this way may be left: Are they then of Babylon better than they of Sion?

³² Or is there any other people that knoweth thee beside Israel? or what generation hath so believed thy covenants as Jacob?

³³ And yet their reward appeareth not, and their labour hath no fruit: for I have gone here and there through the heathen, and I see that they flow in wealth, and think not upon thy commandments.

³⁴ Weigh thou therefore our wickedness now in the balance, and their's also that dwell the world; and so shall thy name no where be found but in Israel.

³⁵ Or when was it that they which dwell upon the earth have not sinned in thy sight? or what people have so kept thy commandments?

³⁶ Thou shalt find that Israel by name hath kept thy precepts; but not the heathen.