As for peres ¹  – your kingdom is divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

They were hiring advisers to oppose them, so as to frustrate their plans, throughout the time ¹  of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius ²  of Persia. ³ 

Persia, ¹  Ethiopia, and Put ²  are with them, all of them with shields and helmets.

King Cyrus of Persia entrusted ¹  them to ²  Mithredath ³  the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar ⁴  the leader of the Judahite exiles. ⁵ 

In the first year of the reign of ¹  King Cyrus of Persia, in fulfillment of the promise he delivered through Jeremiah, ²  the Lord moved ³  King Cyrus of Persia to issue a written decree throughout his kingdom.

¹ In the first ²  year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the Lord’s message ³  spoken through ⁴  Jeremiah, ⁵  the Lord stirred the mind ⁶  of King Cyrus of Persia. He disseminated ⁷  a proclamation ⁸  throughout his entire kingdom, announcing in a written edict ⁹  the following:

However, the prince of the kingdom of Persia was opposing me for twenty-one days. But ¹  Michael, one of the leading princes, came to help me, because I was left there ²  with the kings of Persia.

He deported to Babylon all who escaped the sword. They served him and his sons until the Persian kingdom rose to power.

So the work on the temple of God in Jerusalem came to a halt. It remained halted until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia. ¹ 

Now after these things had happened, during the reign of King Artaxerxes ¹  of Persia, Ezra came up from Babylon. ²  Ezra was the son of Seraiah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Hilkiah,

in the third ¹  year of his reign he provided a banquet for all his officials and his servants. The army ²  of Persia and Media ³  was present, ⁴  as well as the nobles and the officials of the provinces.

And this very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media who have heard the matter concerning the queen will respond in the same way to all the royal officials, and there will be more than enough contempt and anger!

I want you ¹  to share your food with the hungry and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. ²  When you see someone naked, clothe him! Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood! ³ 

Men of Persia, Lud, ¹  and Put were in your army, men of war. They hung shield and helmet on you; they gave you your splendor.

He said, “Do you know why I have come to you? ¹  Now I am about to return to engage in battle with the prince of Persia. When I go, the prince of Greece is coming.

It read: “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: ‘The Lord God of the heavens has given to me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build for him a temple in Jerusalem ¹  in Judah. May the Lord your God energize you who belong to his people, so you may be able to go back there!” ² 

“Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: “‘The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has instructed me to build a temple ¹  for him in Jerusalem, ²  which is in Judah.

So they provided money ¹  for the masons and carpenters, and food, beverages, and olive oil for the people of Sidon ²  and Tyre, ³  so that they would bring cedar timber from Lebanon to the seaport ⁴  at Joppa, in accord with the edict of King Cyrus of Persia.

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them, “You have no right ¹  to help us build the temple of our God. We will build it by ourselves for the Lord God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.”

And during the reign ¹  of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, ²  Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their colleagues ³  wrote to King Artaxerxes ⁴  of Persia. This letter ⁵  was first written in Aramaic but then translated. [Aramaic:] ⁶