King James Version · The Persian return
Nehemiah 13
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On that day they read in the book of in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the and the should not come into of for ever; Because they met not the with bread and with water, but hired against them, that he should them: howbeit our turned the into a . Now it came to pass, when they had heard , that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude. And before this, the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our , was allied unto : And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat , the , and the vessels, and the of the corn, the , and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the , and the singers, and the porters; and the of the priests. But in all this time was not I at : for in the two and thirtieth year of king of came I unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king: And I came to , and understood of the evil that did for , in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of . And it grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of out of the chamber. Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of , with the meat and the . And I perceived that the portions of the had not been given them: for the and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field. Then contended I with the , and said, Why is the house of forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place. Then brought all Judah the of the corn and the and the oil unto the treasuries. And I made treasurers over the treasuries, the priest, and the , and of the , : and next to them was the son of , the son of : for they were counted , and their office was to distribute unto their brethren. Remember me, O my , concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my , and for the offices thereof. In those days saw I in Judah some treading presses on the , and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also , grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into on the : and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. There dwelt men of also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the unto the children of Judah, and in . Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the ? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more upon Israel by profaning the . And it came to pass, that when the of began to be dark before the , I commanded that the should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the : and some of my servants set I at the , that there should no burden be brought in on the . 20So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without once or twice. Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the . And I commanded the that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the , to the . Remember me, O my , concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy. In those days also saw I that had married wives of , of , and of : And their children spake half in the speech of , and could not speak in the ’ language, but according to the language of each people. And I contended with them, and them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them by , saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. Did not king of Israel by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his , and made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to . Shall we then unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our in marrying strange wives? And one of the sons of , the son of the , was son in law to the : therefore I chased him from me. Remember them, O my , because they have defiled the priesthood, and of the priesthood, and of the . Thus cleansed I them from all strangers, and appointed the wards of the priests and the , every one in his business; And for the wood , at times appointed, and for the . Remember me, O my , for good.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · The Persian return, 539 BC to 332 BC ›
Persia takes Babylon and reverses its policy, sending exiled peoples home to rebuild their temples. Judah returns as a small province, rebuilding under imperial permission rather than independence.
- Persia
- The largest empire the world had yet seen, from the Indus to the Aegean, run through provinces, a royal road, and a postal system. Its policy on conquered peoples was to send them home and fund their temples, in exchange for loyalty and prayers for the king. The Cyrus Cylinder states the policy in Cyrus's own words, and Ezra opens with the same policy applied to Judah.
- Judah
- A small, poor province called Yehud, a fraction of the old kingdom, with a rebuilt temple that made the people who remembered the first one weep. No king, and no prospect of one. Leadership passes to priests and scribes, which shapes everything afterward.
- Greece
- Persia and Greece collide at Marathon and Salamis, Persia loses, and Athens spends the following decades on the Parthenon, tragedy, and Socrates. Herodotus writes the first history in order to explain that war. Then Plato and Aristotle, whose vocabulary the church will still be using at Nicaea eight centuries later.
- Further afield
- Rome throws out its kings and becomes a republic. In India and China this is the age of the Buddha's early followers and of Confucian teaching taking hold. More of what the world still thinks with was invented in this era than in almost any other.