The chat will start when you send the first message.
1After all these things had happened, Ezra came up to Jerusalem from Babylon. It was during the rule of Artaxerxes. He was king of Persia. Ezra was the son of Seraiah. Seraiah was the son of Azariah. Azariah was the son of Hilkiah.
2Hilkiah was the son of Shallum. Shallum was the son of Zadok. Zadok was the son of Ahitub.
3Ahitub was the son of Amariah. Amariah was the son of Azariah. Azariah was the son of Meraioth.
4Meraioth was the son of Zerahiah. Zerahiah was the son of Uzzi. Uzzi was the son of Bukki.
5Bukki was the son of Abishua. Abishua was the son of Phinehas. Phinehas was the son of Eleazar. And Eleazar was the son of Aaron the chief priest.
6So Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher who knew the Law of Moses very well. The Lord , the God of Israel, had given Israel that law. The king had given Ezra everything he asked for. That’s because the Lord his God helped him.
7Some of the Israelites came up to Jerusalem too. They included priests, Levites and musicians. They also included the temple servants and those who guarded the temple gates. It was in the seventh year that Artaxerxes was king.
8Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king’s rule.
9Ezra had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month. He arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month. That’s because God was gracious to him and helped him.
10Ezra had committed himself to study and obey the Law of the Lord . He also wanted to teach the Lord ’s rules and laws in Israel.
11Ezra was a priest and teacher of the Law. He was an educated man. He knew the Lord ’s commands and rules for Israel very well. Here is a copy of a letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra. It said,
27So here is what I, Ezra, say to you people of Israel. “Give praise to the Lord . He is the God of our people who lived long ago. He has put it in the king’s heart to bring honor to the Lord ’s temple in Jerusalem. The king has honored the Lord in his letter.
28The Lord has been kind to me. He has caused the king and his advisers to be kind to me. In fact, all the king’s powerful officials have been kind to me. The strong hand of the Lord my God helped me. That gave me new strength. So I gathered together leaders from Israel to go up to Jerusalem with me.”