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EXCERPT…

 

1 Esdras 1 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

(b) The books from 1 Esdras through 3 Maccabees are recognized as Deuterocanonical Scripture by the Greek and the Russian Orthodox Churches. They are not so recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, but 1 Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh (together with 2 Esdras) are placed in an appendix to the Latin Vulgate Bible.

Josiah Celebrates the Passover

1 Josiah kept the passover to his Lord in Jerusalem; he killed the passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month, ² having placed the priests according to their divisions, arrayed in their vestments, in the temple of the Lord. ³ He told the Levites, the temple servants of Israel, that they should sanctify themselves to the Lord and put the holy ark of the Lord in the house that King Solomon, son of David, had built; ⁴ and he said, “You need no longer carry it on your shoulders. Now worship the Lord your God and serve his people Israel; prepare yourselves by your families and kindred, ⁵ in accordance with the directions of King David of Israel and the magnificence of his son Solomon. Stand in order in the temple according to the groupings of the ancestral houses of you Levites, who minister before your kindred the people of Israel, ⁶ and kill the passover lamb and prepare the sacrifices for your kindred, and keep the passover according to the commandment of the Lord that was given to Moses.”

⁷ To the people who were present Josiah gave thirty thousand lambs and kids, and three thousand calves; these were given from the king’s possessions, as he promised, to the people and the priests and Levites. ⁸ Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel,^[a] the chief officers of the temple, gave to the priests for the passover two thousand six hundred sheep and three hundred calves. ⁹ And Jeconiah and Shemaiah and his brother Nethanel, and Hashabiah and Ochiel and Joram, captains over thousands, gave the Levites for the passover five thousand sheep and seven hundred calves.

¹⁰ This is what took place. The priests and the Levites, having the unleavened bread, stood in proper order according to kindred ¹¹ and the grouping of the ancestral houses, before the people, to make the offering to the Lord as it is written in the book of Moses; this they did in the morning. ¹² They roasted the passover lamb with fire, as required; and they boiled the sacrifices in bronze pots and caldrons, with a pleasing odor, ¹³ and carried them to all the people. Afterward they prepared the passover for themselves and for their kindred the priests, the sons of Aaron, ¹⁴ because the priests were offering the fat until nightfall; so the Levites prepared it for themselves and for their kindred the priests, the sons of Aaron. ¹⁵ The temple singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their place according to the arrangement made by David, and also Asaph, Zechariah, and Eddinus, who represented the king. ¹⁶ The gatekeepers were at each gate; no one needed to interrupt his daily duties, for their kindred the Levites prepared the passover for them.

¹⁷ So the things that had to do with the sacrifices to the Lord were accomplished that day: the passover was kept ¹⁸ and the sacrifices were offered on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah. ¹⁹ And the people of Israel who were present at that time kept the passover and the festival of unleavened bread seven days. ²⁰ No passover like it had been kept in Israel since the times of the prophet Samuel; ²¹ none of the kings of Israel had kept such a passover as was kept by Josiah and the priests and Levites and the people of Judah and all of Israel who were living in Jerusalem. ²² In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this passover was kept.

The End of Josiah’s Reign

²³ And the deeds of Josiah were upright in the sight of the Lord, for his heart was full of godliness. ²⁴ In ancient times the events of his reign have been recorded—concerning those who sinned and acted wickedly toward the Lord beyond any other people or kingdom, and how they grieved the Lord^[b] deeply, so that the words of the Lord fell upon Israel.

²⁵ After all these acts of Josiah, it happened that Pharaoh, king of Egypt, went to make war at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out against him. ²⁶ And the king of Egypt sent word to him saying, “What have we to do with each other, O king of Judea? ²⁷ I was not sent against you by the Lord God, for my war is at the Euphrates. And now the Lord is with me! The Lord is with me, urging me on! Stand aside, and do not oppose the Lord.”

²⁸ Josiah, however, did not turn back to his chariot, but tried to fight with him, and did not heed the words of the prophet Jeremiah from the mouth of the Lord. ²⁹ He joined battle with him in the plain of Megiddo, and the commanders came down against King Josiah. ³⁰ The king said to his servants, “Take me away from the battle, for I am very weak.” And immediately his servants took him out of the line of battle. ³¹ He got into his second chariot; and after he was brought back to Jerusalem he died, and was buried in the tomb of his ancestors.

³² In all Judea they mourned for Josiah. The prophet Jeremiah lamented for Josiah, and the principal men, with the women,^[c] have made lamentation for him to this day; it was ordained that this should always be done throughout the whole nation of Israel. ³³ These things are written in the book of the histories of the kings of Judea; and every one of the acts of Josiah, and his splendor, and his understanding of the law of the Lord, and the things that he had done before, and these that are now told, are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

The Last Kings of Judah

³⁴ The men of the nation took Jeconiah^[d] son of Josiah, who was twenty-three years old, and made him king in succession to his father Josiah. ³⁵ He reigned three months in Judah and Jerusalem. Then the king of Egypt deposed him from reigning in Jerusalem, ³⁶ and fined the nation one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold. ³⁷ The king of Egypt made his brother Jehoiakim king of Judea and Jerusalem. ³⁸ Jehoiakim put the nobles in prison, and seized his brother Zarius and brought him back from Egypt.

³⁹ Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign in Judea and Jerusalem; he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. ⁴⁰ King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up against him; he bound him with a chain of bronze and took him away to Babylon. ⁴¹ Nebuchadnezzar also took some holy vessels of the Lord, and carried them away, and stored them in his temple in Babylon. ⁴² But the things that are reported about Jehoiakim,^[e] and his uncleanness and impiety, are written in the annals of the kings.

⁴³ His son Jehoiachin^[f] became king in his place; when he was made king he was eighteen years old, ⁴⁴ and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. ⁴⁵ A year later Nebuchadnezzar sent and removed him to Babylon, with the holy vessels of the Lord, ⁴⁶ and made Zedekiah king of Judea and Jerusalem.

The Fall of Jerusalem

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old, and he reigned eleven years. ⁴⁷ He also did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not heed the words that were spoken by the prophet Jeremiah from the mouth of the Lord. ⁴⁸ Although King Nebuchadnezzar had made him swear by the name of the Lord, he broke his oath and rebelled; he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart and transgressed the laws of the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁴⁹ Even the leaders of the people and of the priests committed many acts of sacrilege and lawlessness beyond all the unclean deeds of all the nations, and polluted the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem—the temple that God had made holy. ⁵⁰ The God of their ancestors sent his messenger to call them back, because he would have spared them and his dwelling place. ⁵¹ But they mocked his messengers, and whenever the Lord spoke, they scoffed at his prophets, ⁵² until in his anger against his people because of their ungodly acts he gave command to bring against them the kings of the Chaldeans. ⁵³ These killed their young men with the sword around their holy temple, and did not spare young man or young woman,^[g] old man or child, for he gave them all into their hands. ⁵⁴ They took all the holy vessels of the Lord, great and small, the treasure chests of the Lord, and the royal stores, and carried them away to Babylon. ⁵⁵ They burned the house of the Lord, broke down the walls of Jerusalem, burned their towers with fire, ⁵⁶ and utterly destroyed all its glorious things. The survivors he led away to Babylon with the sword, ⁵⁷ and they were servants to him and to his sons until the Persians began to reign, in fulfillment of the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, ⁵⁸ saying, “Until the land has enjoyed its sabbaths, it shall keep sabbath all the time of its desolation until the completion of seventy years.”

 

 

1 Esdras 2 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Cyrus Permits the Exiles to Return

2 In the first year of Cyrus as king of the Persians, so that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished— ² the Lord stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of the Persians, and he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:

³ “Thus says Cyrus king of the Persians: The Lord of Israel, the Lord Most High, has made me king of the world, ⁴ and he has commanded me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judea. ⁵ If any of you, therefore, are of his people, may your Lord be with you; go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judea, and build the house of the Lord of Israel—he is the Lord who dwells in Jerusalem— ⁶ and let each of you, wherever you may live, be helped by the people of your place with gold and silver, ⁷ with gifts and with horses and cattle, besides the other things added as votive offerings for the temple of the Lord that is in Jerusalem.”

⁸ Then arose the heads of families of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, and all whose spirit the Lord had stirred to go up to build the house in Jerusalem for the Lord; ⁹ their neighbors helped them with everything, with silver and gold, with horses and cattle, and with a very great number of votive offerings from many whose hearts were stirred.

¹⁰ King Cyrus also brought out the holy vessels of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and stored in his temple of idols. ¹¹ When King Cyrus of the Persians brought these out, he gave them to Mithridates, his treasurer, ¹² and by him they were given to Sheshbazzar,^[a] the governor of Judea. ¹³ The number of these was: one thousand gold cups, one thousand silver cups, twenty-nine silver censers, thirty gold bowls, two thousand four hundred ten silver bowls, and one thousand other vessels. ¹⁴ All the vessels were handed over, gold and silver, five thousand four hundred sixty-nine, ¹⁵ and they were carried back by Sheshbazzar with the returning exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Opposition to Rebuilding Jerusalem

¹⁶ In the time of King Artaxerxes of the Persians, Bishlam, Mithridates, Tabeel, Rehum, Beltethmus, the scribe Shimshai, and the rest of their associates, living in Samaria and other places, wrote him the following letter, against those who were living in Judea and Jerusalem:

¹⁷ “To King Artaxerxes our lord, your servants the recorder Rehum and the scribe Shimshai and the other members of their council, and the judges in Coelesyria and Phoenicia: ¹⁸ Let it now be known to our lord the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem and are building that rebellious and wicked city, repairing its market places and walls and laying the foundations for a temple. ¹⁹ Now if this city is built and the walls finished, they will not only refuse to pay tribute but will even resist kings. ²⁰ Since the building of the temple is now going on, we think it best not to neglect such a matter, ²¹ but to speak to our lord the king, in order that, if it seems good to you, search may be made in the records of your ancestors. ²² You will find in the annals what has been written about them, and will learn that this city was rebellious, troubling both kings and other cities, ²³ and that the Jews were rebels and kept setting up blockades in it from of old. That is why this city was laid waste. ²⁴ Therefore we now make known to you, O lord and king, that if this city is built and its walls finished, you will no longer have access to Coelesyria and Phoenicia.”

²⁵ Then the king, in reply to the recorder Rehum, Beltethmus, the scribe Shimshai, and the others associated with them and living in Samaria and Syria and Phoenicia, wrote as follows:

²⁶ “I have read the letter that you sent me. So I ordered search to be made, and it has been found that this city from of old has fought against kings, ²⁷ that the people in it were given to rebellion and war, and that mighty and cruel kings ruled in Jerusalem and exacted tribute from Coelesyria and Phoenicia. ²⁸ Therefore I have now issued orders to prevent these people from building the city and to take care that nothing more be done ²⁹ and that such wicked proceedings go no further to the annoyance of kings.”

³⁰ Then, when the letter from King Artaxerxes was read, Rehum and the scribe Shimshai and their associates went quickly to Jerusalem, with cavalry and a large number of armed troops, and began to hinder the builders. And the building of the temple in Jerusalem stopped until the second year of the reign of King Darius of the Persians.

 

 

1 Esdras 3 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Debate of the Three Bodyguards

3 Now King Darius gave a great banquet for all that were under him, all that were born in his house, and all the nobles of Media and Persia, ² and all the satraps and generals and governors that were under him in the hundred twenty-seven satrapies from India to Ethiopia. ³ They ate and drank, and when they were satisfied they went away, and King Darius went to his bedroom; he went to sleep, but woke up again.

⁴ Then the three young men of the bodyguard, who kept guard over the person of the king, said to one another, ⁵ “Let each of us state what one thing is strongest; and to the one whose statement seems wisest, King Darius will give rich gifts and great honors of victory. ⁶ He shall be clothed in purple, and drink from gold cups, and sleep on a gold bed,^[a]and have a chariot with gold bridles, and a turban of fine linen, and a necklace around his neck; ⁷ and because of his wisdom he shall sit next to Darius and shall be called Kinsman of Darius.”

⁸ Then each wrote his own statement, and they sealed them and put them under the pillow of King Darius, ⁹ and said, “When the king wakes, they will give him the writing; and to the one whose statement the king and the three nobles of Persia judge to be wisest the victory shall be given according to what is written.” ¹⁰ The first wrote, “Wine is strongest.” ¹¹ The second wrote, “The king is strongest.” ¹² The third wrote, “Women are strongest, but above all things truth is victor.”^[b]

¹³ When the king awoke, they took the writing and gave it to him, and he read it. ¹⁴ Then he sent and summoned all the nobles of Persia and Media and the satraps and generals and governors and prefects, ¹⁵ and he took his seat in the council chamber, and the writing was read in their presence. ¹⁶ He said, “Call the young men, and they shall explain their statements.” So they were summoned, and came in. ¹⁷ They said to them, “Explain to us what you have written.”

The Speech about Wine

Then the first, who had spoken of the strength of wine, began and said: ¹⁸ “Gentlemen, how is wine the strongest? It leads astray the minds of all who drink it. ¹⁹ It makes equal the mind of the king and the orphan, of the slave and the free, of the poor and the rich. ²⁰ It turns every thought to feasting and mirth, and forgets all sorrow and debt. ²¹ It makes all hearts feel rich, forgets kings and satraps, and makes everyone talk in millions.^[c] 22 When people drink they forget to be friendly with friends and kindred, and before long they draw their swords. ²³ And when they recover from the wine, they do not remember what they have done. ²⁴ Gentlemen, is not wine the strongest, since it forces people to do these things?” When he had said this, he stopped speaking.

 

….ETC…