World English Bible · The Persian return
Nehemiah 13
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On that day they read in the book of in the hearing of the people; and it was found written in it that an and a should not enter into of , because they didn't meet the with bread and with water, but hired against them to them; however, our turned the into a . It came to pass, when they had heard , that they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel. Now before this, the priest, who was appointed over the rooms of the house of our , being allied to , had prepared for him a great room, where before they laid the , the , the vessels, and the of the grain, the , and the oil, which were given by to the , the singers, and the gatekeepers; and the wave for the priests. But in all this, I was not at ; for in -second year of king of I went to the king; and after some days I asked leave of the king, and I came to , and understood the evil that had done for , in preparing him a room in the courts of house. It grieved me severely. Therefore I threw all household stuff out of the room. Then I commanded, and they cleansed the rooms. I brought into them the vessels of house, with the and the again. I perceived that the portions of the had not been given them, so that the and the singers, who did the work, had each fled to his field. Then I contended with the , and said, "Why is house forsaken?" I gathered them together, and set them in their place. Then all Judah brought the of the grain, the , and the oil to the treasuries. 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 business was to distribute to their brothers. Remember me, my , concerning this, and don't wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my , and for its observances. In those days I saw some men treading presses on the in Judah, bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with , grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens which they brought into on the ; and I testified against them in the day in which they sold food. Some men of also lived there, who brought in fish and all kinds of wares, and sold on the to the children of Judah, and in . Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, "What evil thing is this that you do, and profane the ? Didn't your fathers do this, and didn't our bring all this evil on us and on this city? Yet you bring more on Israel by profaning the ." It came to pass that when the of began to be dark before the , I commanded that the doors should be shut, and commanded that they should not be opened until after the . I set some of my servants over the , so that no burden should be brought in on the . 20So the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares camped outside of once or twice. Then I testified against them, and said to them, "Why do you stay around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you." From that time on, they didn't come on the . I commanded the that they should purify themselves, and that they should come and keep the , to the . Remember me for this also, my , and spare me according to the greatness of your . In those days I also saw the who had married women of , of , and of ; and their children spoke half in the speech of , and could not speak in the ' language, but according to the language of each people. I contended with them, them, struck certain of them, plucked off their hair, and made them by , "You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons, or for yourselves. Didn't king of Israel by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, and he was loved by his , and made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless foreign women caused even him to . Shall we then listen to you to do all this great evil, to trespass against our in marrying foreign women?" One of the sons of , the son of the , was son-in-law to the ; therefore I chased him from me. Remember them, my , because they have defiled the priesthood and of the priesthood and of the . Thus I cleansed them from all and appointed duties for the priests and for the , everyone in his work; and for the wood , at , and for the . Remember me, my , for good.
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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.