World English Bible · The Persian return
Nehemiah 9
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Now in the twenty-fourth day of this month the were assembled with , with , and dirt on them. The of Israel separated themselves from all and stood and their and the of their fathers. They stood up in their place, and read in the book of of their a fourth part of the day; and a fourth part they and their . Then , , , , , , , and Chenani of the stood up on the stairs, and cried with a loud voice to their . Then the , , and , , Hashabneiah, , , , and , said, "Stand up and your from to ! be your name, which is exalted above all and ! You are , even you alone. You have made , the , with all their army, the earth and all things that are on it, the seas and all that is in them, and you preserve them all. The worships you. You are , the who chose , brought him out of of the Chaldees, gave him the name of , found before you, and made a with him to give the land of the , the , the , the , the , and the , to give it to his , and have performed your words, for you are . "You saw the affliction of our fathers in , and heard their cry by , and showed signs and wonders against , against all his servants, and against all the people of his land, for you knew that they dealt proudly against them, and made a name for yourself, as it is today. You divided the sea before them, so that they went through the middle of the sea on the dry land; and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters. Moreover, in a you led them by day; and in a by night, to give them in in which they should go. "You also came down on , and spoke with them from , and gave them right ordinances and true laws, good and , and to them your , and commanded them , , and a law, by , and gave them bread from for their , and brought water out of for them for their thirst, and commanded them that they should go in to possess the land which you had to give them. "But they and our fathers behaved proudly, hardened their neck, didn't listen to your , and refused to . They weren't mindful of your wonders that you did among them, but hardened their neck, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage. But you are a ready to pardon, and merciful, , and abundant in , and didn't forsake them. Yes, when they had made themselves a molded calf, and said, 'This is your who brought you up out of ,' and had committed awful blasphemies, yet you in your manifold didn't forsake them in . of cloud didn't depart from over them by day, to lead them in ; neither did of by night, to show them , and in which they should go. You gave also your good to instruct them, and didn't withhold your from their , and gave them water for their thirst. "Yes, forty years you sustained them in . They lacked nothing. Their clothes didn't grow old, and their feet didn't swell. Moreover you gave them kingdoms and peoples, which you allotted according to their portions. So they the land of , even the land of the king of , and the land of king of . You also multiplied their children as the stars of , and brought them into the land concerning which you said to their fathers that they should go in to possess it. "So the children went in and the land; and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, , and gave them into their hands, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they pleased. They took fortified cities and a rich land, and houses full of all good things, cisterns dug out, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate, were filled, became fat, and delighted themselves in your great goodness. "Nevertheless they were and rebelled against you, cast behind their back, killed your that testified against them to turn them again to you, and they committed awful blasphemies. Therefore you them into the hand of their , who distressed them. In the time of their trouble, when they cried to you, you heard from ; and according to your manifold you gave them saviors who them out of the hands of their . But after they had rest, they did evil again before you; therefore you left them in the hands of their , so that they had the over them; yet when they returned and cried to you, you heard from ; and many times you them according to your , and testified against them, that you might bring them again to . Yet they were arrogant, and didn't listen to your , but against your ordinances (which if a man does, he shall live in them), turned their backs, stiffened their neck, and would not hear. Yet many years you put up with them, and testified against them by your through your . Yet they would not listen. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. "Nevertheless in your manifold you didn't make a full end of them, nor forsake them; for you are a and merciful . Now therefore, our , the great, the mighty, and the awesome , who keeps and , don't let all the travail seem little before you that has come on us, on our kings, on our princes, on our priests, on our , on our fathers, and on all your people, since the time of the kings of to this day. However you are in all that has come on us; for you have dealt truly, but we have done wickedly. Also our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept , nor listened to your and your testimonies with which you testified against them. For they have not you in their kingdom, and in your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and rich land which you gave before them. They didn't turn from their works. "Behold, we are servants today, and as for the land that you gave to our fathers to eat its fruit and its good, behold, we are servants in it. It yields much increase to the kings whom you have set over us because of our . Also they have over our bodies and over our livestock, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. Yet for all this, we make a sure , and write it; and our princes, our , and our priests, seal it."
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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.