 3 Ezra Chapter 1 Verse 1 to Chapter 3 Verse 7 We have seen in the story of the Kingdom of Israel, or the Ten Tribes, how the great Empire of Assyria arose from the city of Nineveh on the Tigris River, how it ruled all the lands and carried away the Ten Tribes of Israel into captivity, from which they never came back to their own land. Story 91 We saw, too, how the Empire of Assyria went down, and the Empire of Babylon or Chaldea arose in its place under Nebuchadnezzar, Story 97. As soon as Nebuchadnezzar died, the Empire of Babylon began to fall, and in its place arose the Empire of Persia, under Cyrus, who is called Cyrus the Great, because of his many victories and his wide rule. His Empire was much greater than either the Assyrian or the Chaldean Empire, for it held in its rule the land of Egypt, all the lands known as Asia Minor, and also many lands in the Far East. Cyrus the Great King was a friend to the Jews, who at this time were still living in the land of Chaldea, between the Tigris and Euphrates River. It was now seventy years since the first company of captives had been taken away from the land of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar, Sea Story 97, and fifty years since the city of Jerusalem had been burned. By that time the Jews were no longer looked upon as captives in the land of Chaldea. They lived in their own houses, and tilled their own farms, and were in peace. Many of them were rich, and some of them, like Daniel and his three friends, were in high places at the court of the king. You remember that in the early days of the captivity Jeremiah the Prophet wrote a letter to those who had been carried away to Babylon, telling them that after seventy years they would come back to their own land. Story 97 The seventy years were now ended. The older men and women who had been taken away had died in the land of Chaldea, but their children and their children's children still loved the land of Judah as their own land, although it was so far away. The Lord put into the heart of Cyrus the king of Persia, very early in his reign, to send word among the Jews that they might now go back to their own land. This was the word as it was written and sent out. Thus saith Cyrus, the king of Persia, the Lord, the God of Heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has commanded me to build him a house in Jerusalem in the land of Judah. Or let those of the people of God who are among you go up to Jerusalem and help to build the house of the Lord, and those who do not go to Jerusalem but stay in the places where they are living. Let them give to those who go back to their own land gifts of gold and silver, and beasts to carry them, and goods, and also a free gift toward the building of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. At this the Jews in the land of Chaldea were very glad for they loved their own land, and longed to see it. One of them wrote a song at this time. It is Psalm 126. When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were likened to them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then said they among the nations, The Lord hath done great things for them. The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad. Then again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south, they that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Though he goeth on his way weeping, bearing forth the seed, he shall come again with joy, bringing his sheaves with him. So the Jewish people began to make ready for going back to their own land. Those who were rich and noble in rank stayed in the land of Chaldea and in other lands of the Persian Empire. But though they did not go back to the land from which their fathers had come, they gave large gifts of gold and silver to help those who did go. And Cyrus, the king, took from the treasure house in Babylon all the vessels of the temple that had been taken away by Nebuchadnezzar, and gave them to the Jews, to be used in the new temple which they were soon to build. These were plates and dishes and bowls and cups of gold and silver, more than four thousand in all. So with the gifts of the king and the gifts of their own people, and what was owned by those who went to the land of Judah, the company took away a vast treasure of gold and silver. It was a happy company of people that met together for the journey, back to the land which they still called their own, though very few of them had seen it. There were forty-two thousand of them, besides their servants to help them in the journey. They traveled slowly up the Euphrates River, singing songs of joy, until they reached the northern end of the great desert. Then they turned toward the southwest and journeyed beside the Lebanon mountains, past Damascus and through Syria, until at last they came to the land of their fathers, the land of Judah. With all their joy they must have felt sad when they saw the city of Jerusalem all in ruins, its walls broken down, its houses heaps of blackened stone, its once-beautiful temple burned into a heap of ashes. As soon as they came they found the rock where the altar of the Lord had stood, the same rock where David had long before offered a sacrifice—see Story 69—and the same rock upon which travelers look even in our time under the dome of the rock. From the smooth face of this rock they gathered up the stones and swept away the ashes and the dust. Then they built upon it the altar of the Lord. And Joshua, the High Priest, began to offer the sacrifices which for fifty years had not been placed upon the altar. Every morning and every afternoon they laid on the altar the burnt offering and thus gave themselves to the Lord and asked God's help. From this time there were two branches of the Jewish race. Those who came back to the land of Judah, which was also called the land of Israel, were called Hebrews, which was an old name of the Israelites. Those who stayed in the lands abroad, in Chaldea and throughout the empire of Persia, were called the Jews of the dispersion. There were far more of the Jews abroad than in their own land, and they were the richer and the greater people. Many of them went up to Jerusalem to visit and to worship, and many others sent rich gifts, so that between the two great branches of the Jewish people, in their own land and in other lands, there was a close friendship, and they all felt, wherever the Jews were, they were still one people. The Jews who had been captives in the land of Babylon were now free to go wherever they chose, and besides those who went back to the land of their fathers, there were many who chose to visit other lands, wherever they could find work and get gang. It was not many years before Jews were found in many cities of the Persian Empire. They went also to Africa and also to Europe, choosing the cities for their home, rather than the country. Everywhere in all the great cities, the Jews of the dispersion were found, besides those who were living in their own land of Israel. When the Jews came back to their land, their leader was named Zerubbabel, a word which means one born in Babylon. He belonged to the family of David, and was called the prince, but he ruled under the commands of Cyrus, the great king. Prejuda, which now began to be spoken of as Judea, was a small part, or province, as it was called, in the great empire of Persia. End of Story 13 Story number 14 of Halbert's Story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Halbert's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Halbert, part 5. The New Temple on Mount Moriah. Ezra chapter 3 from verse 8 to chapter 6 of verse 22. Hagar chapter 1 from verse 1 to verse 23 of chapter 2. Zechariah chapter 4 from verse 6 to 10. After the Jews came back to their own land, they first built the altar upon Mount Moriah, as we read in the last story. Then they built some houses for themselves, for the winter was coming on. And early in the next year, they began to build again the temple of the Lord. Zerubabel the prince and Joshua the priest led in the walk. And the priests and Levites helped in it. They gave money to masons and carpenters. And they paid men of Tyre and Sidon on the shore of the Great Sea to float down cedar trees from Mount Lebanon to Joppa. And from Joppa, they carried them up the mountains to Jerusalem for the building of the house. When they laid the first stones in the new building, the priests in their robes stood ready with trumpets. And the Levites were symbols to praise the Lord for his goodness in bringing them once again to their own land. The singers sang, praise the Lord for he is good. His mercy endured forever toward Ezra of his people. And all the people shouted with a great shout as the first stones were laid. But some of the priests and Levites and Jews were old men who had seen the first temple while it was still standing, more than 50 years before. These old men wept as they thought of the house that had been burned and of their friends who had been slain in the destruction of the city. Some wept and some shouted. But the sound was heard together. And those who heard at a distance could not tell the weeping from the shouting. But these builders soon found enemies and were hindered in their work. In the middle of the land, near the cities of Shechem and Samaria, were living the Samaritan people, some of whom from the old ten tribes and others from the people that had been brought into the land by the Assyrians many years before. See story 91. These worshipped the Lord, but with the Lord they worshipped other gods. These people came to Prince Zerubbabel and said, let us join with you in building this house, for we seek the Lord as you do, and we offer sacrifices to him. But Zerubbabel and the rulers said to them, you are not with us, and you do not worship as we worship. You have nothing to do with us in building the Lord's house. We will build up ourselves to our God, the God of Israel, as Cyrus the king of Persia has told us to build. This made the people of Samaria very angry. They tried to stop the Jews from building and frightened them and wrote letters to the king, urging him to stop the walk. Cyrus the king was a friend to the Jews, but he was in a land far away in the east, carrying on war, so that he could not help them. And soon after this he died. His son, who took his great kingdom, did not care for the Jews, and he too died in a few years. Then a noble man of another family seized Petrion and held it nearly a year before he was slain. His name was Smedis, but he is called in the Bible but another name, Atazaxis. While this king was running, his American rulers wrote to him a letter saying, let it be known to the king that the Jews have come back to Jerusalem. They are building again the city which was always bad and would not obey the kings when he was standing before. If that city be built and its walls finished, then the Jews will not serve the king, nor pay to him their taxes. We are true to the king, and we do not wish to see him come to his rule. Of old time, this city was rebellious, and for that course it was laid waste. If it is built again, soon the king will have no power anywhere on the side of the river Euphrates. The king Smedis, or Atazaxis, wrote an answer to the chief man of Samaria Thoth. The letter which he sent has been read to me. I have cost such to be made in the records, and I find that the city of Jerusalem has been in old time a strong city, with great kings ruling in it, and ruling also the lands around it. I find too that this city did rise up and make war against the kings of empires in the past. Command the men who are building the city of Jerusalem to stop the war, and let it not go on until an order is given from the king. The Samaritans and other enemies of the Jews were glad to have this letter come from the great king of Persia. They went to Jerusalem and made the work of building the temple and the city stop. So the foundations of the temple lay unfinished through several years. But after a time, two prophets arose in the land of Judea. They were Hagar and Zechariah, and they spoke the word of the Lord to the people, telling them to go forward with the building. Hagar said, is it a time for you to dwell in richly furnished houses of your own, while the Lord's house lies waste? Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build, and I will be pleased with you and will bless you, said the Lord. The glory of this house shall be greater than the glory of the other house. And in this place, I will give peace, said the Lord of hosts. And Zechariah, the other prophet, said, it shall not be by might, not by power, but by my spirit, said the Lord. The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands shall finish it. He shall lay the headstone with shoutings of grace, grace, unto it. Then Zerubbabel and Joshua and the rest of Jews began again and went on with the work. Soon after this, a new king began to reign in Pasha. He was a wise man and a great ruler, whose name was Darius. King Darius looked in the records of Pasha and found it written that Cyrus the king had commanded the temple to be built. He wrote a letter to the rulers in all the lands around Judea, no longer to hinder the walk, but to help it and to give what was needed for it. Then the Jews went on with the building in great joy, and he was finished at last, 21 years after it had been begun. While Zerubbabel, the prince and Joshua the priest, were still ruling over the people. The temple, which was thus built for the second time, was like the one built by Solomon, nearly 500 years before, since 272. But though larger, it was not so beautiful nor costly. In front of it was an open court with a wall around it where the people could go to worship. Next to the people's court on higher ground was the priest's court, where stood the altar and the lever for washing. Within the court rose the house of God with the holy place and the holy of holies, separated by a great veil. In the holy place as before, stood the table for bread, the golden lamp stand, and the golden altar for incense. But in the holy of holies, there was no ark of the covenant, for this had been lost and was never brought back to Jerusalem. In place of the ark, stood a marble block, upon which the high priest sprinkled the blood. When he went into the holy of holies, on the great day of atonement, once each year, see the account of the tabernacle and its worship in story 28. This is the end of story 14. Story number 15 of Hurlbut's story of the Bible. This is the LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, Part 5. The Beautiful Queen of Persia, Esther 1 verse 1 to 10 verse 3. When Darius the Great King died, his son Xerxes, who was called in the Bible, Asherus, took his place upon the throne of Persia. A Asherus was not like his father Darius, a wise man. He was hasty in his temper and did many foolish acts. At that time the palace where the king of Persia lived was no longer at Babylon, but at a city named Shushan, among the mountains of a region, called Elam. King Ahasuerus held at Shushan a great feast with his nobles. When the king and his company were all drunken with wine, he sent for his queen, Vashti, that he might let all the nobles see how beautiful she was. Among the Persians it was held to be very wrong for a woman ever to allow her face to be seen by any man except her husband. Queen Vashti refused to come to the feast that these drunken men might stare at her. This made the king very angry. He said that because Vashti would not obey him she should not be queen any longer, and he put her away from him and from his house. After this King Ahasuerus thought to choose another woman to be his queen instead of Vashti. He sent commands throughout all the kingdom that in every land and province they should find the most beautiful young women and bring them to the royal city of Shushan. There the king would see them all, and among them he would choose the one that pleased him best, and would take her as his queen. So from every land in the great empire of Persia the loveliest young women were brought to Shushan, and there they were left in the care of Hegei, the chief of the king's palace. At that time many Jews were living in the cities of Persia, for we have seen that only a small part of the Jews went back to the land of Israel when King Cyrus allowed them to return. See Story 104. There was a Jew living in Shushan named Mordechai. He belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, and came from the same family and line with Saul, the first of the kings of Israel. At the house of Mordechai lived his cousin, a young girl named Hadassah, or Esther, a name which means star. Her father and mother had died, and she had been left alone, so Mordechai took her to his own house and brought her up as his own daughter. Esther was very beautiful, and was as lovely in her heart as she was in her face. Among the other beautiful young women she was taken to the palace as one of those who were to be brought before the king. When King Ahazurus saw Esther, the Jewish girl he loved her, and chose her out of all the young women to be his queen, and set upon her head the royal crown of Persia. Esther was taken into the king's palace, rooms and servants were given to her, and she lived in the state of a queen. When the king wished to see her, he sent for her, and she came to his room. No one could go to the king, or could see him unless sent for. And if any one man or woman came before the king without being called, that person was seized by the guards, and was led away to death, unless the king held out toward him his golden scepter, the rod which he held. In the palace Mordechai could no longer meet his cousin Esther, for no man except the king could enter the rooms set apart for the woman. But Esther from her window could see Mordechai as he walked by, and by her servants she could send word to him, and in the same way could hear word from him. Mordechai loved the lovely young queen, who was to him as a daughter, and every day sat at the gate of the palace to hear from her. When Mordechai was sitting by the gate he saw two men who were keepers of the gate, often whispering together. He watched them closely, and found that they had made a plan to kill King Ahazurus. He sent word of this to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king of it. The men were taken, and as Mordechai's words was found to be true, they were both slain by being hanged on a tree, and an account or story of all their plan of how they were found out by Mordechai the Jew, and how they were punished by death was written in the book of records of the kingdom. After this a man named Haman rose to great power in the kingdom. The king gave him a seat above all the other princes, and asked his advice in all matters, and allowed Haman to do whatever he pleased. Of course everybody in the palace showed great respect to Haman, the man who stood next to the king. When he came near all the men in the palace and in the city bowed down before him, and many fell on their faces, even in the very dust. But Mordechai was a worshipper of God, and he would not fall upon his face before any man. Haman noticed that there was one man who did not bow down, as did the others around him. He said to his servants, Who is that man sitting by the gate who does not bow down when I pass by? They answered Haman, that is Mordechai the Jew. But they did not tell Haman, for they did not know that Mordechai was the cousin of Queen Esther, and that the Queen of Persia herself was a Jewish. When Haman found that Mordechai was a Jew he became very angry, not only at Mordechai, but at all his people. He hated the Jews, and he resolved to have revenge on Mordechai, and on his account to make all Mordechai's people suffer. Haman went in to the king and said to him, O king Ahazurus, there is a certain people scattered abroad throughout your kingdom, and apart from all other peoples. Their laws are different from those of every other nation, and they do not keep the king's laws. It is not well to allow such a people to live. If it is pleasing to the king, let a law be made that this strange people be destroyed. I will myself pay all the costs of putting them to death, and will place the money in the king's treasury. The king, living in his palace, and never going out among his people, knew nothing of the Jews, and believed Haman's words. He took from his hand the ring on which was the royal seal, and gave it to Haman saying, Do as you please, write whatever law you wish, and stamp it with the king's seal. The money is yours, and I give this strange people to you. You can do with them, as you please. Then by Haman's command a law was written and sealed with the king's ring, that on a certain day, which was the thirtieth day of the twelfth month, all the Jews in every part of Persia might be slain. Anyone who chose to kill them might do so, and those who killed them might take for their own all their money, the gold and silver, and garments which they might find in the houses of the Jews. The copies of this law were sent to every city of the empire of Persia to be read everywhere, so that all might know that the Jews were to be destroyed. Everyone who heard of it was filled with wonder, for no one knew of any evil against the king that the Jews had done to deserve death. They could not understand why the law had been made, but everywhere the enemies of the Jews made ready to destroy them that they might have the Jews' riches, for in those times, even as now, there was great wealth among the Jews. The news of this terrible law came to Mordecai, as it came to all the Jews in Shushan. Mordecai tore his clothes, as was the manner of those in deep grief. He put on the garments of sackcloth, he covered his head with ashes, and he went forth in front of the palace, crying a loud and bitter cry. Queen Esther saw him and heard his voice. She sent one of her servants, named Hattash to Mordecai, to find out why he was in such deep trouble. Hattash came to Mordecai, and Mordecai told him of the law for killing the Jews on a certain day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, and gave him a copy of it to show to Queen Esther. And he told Hattash to ask the queen in his name to go in to King Ahazurus and beg him to spare the lives of her people. Queen Esther heard Hattash's words, and sent this message to Mordecai. It is the rule of the palace that if any man or woman shall go into the king in his own room without being sent for by the king, he shall be slain unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter. But I have not been called to meet the king for thirty days. When Mordecai heard this message, he sent word again by Hattash to Queen Esther. Do not think that in the king's palace you are safe, and shall escape the fate of your people. If you keep still and do nothing to save your people, God will surely save them in some other way, and you and your father's family shall be destroyed. Who can tell whether God has not raised you up and given you your royal place for such a time as this? Then Esther sent this answer to Mordecai, go and bring together all the Jews in Shushan, and let them all pray for me, eating and drinking nothing for three days. I and my maids in the palace will pray in fast also at the same time, and then I will go to the king, even though it is against the law, and if it be God's will that I should die in trying to save my people, then I will die. When Mordecai heard those words he was glad, for he felt sure that God would save his people through Queen Esther. For three days all the Jews in Shushan met together, praying, and in the palace Esther and her servants were praying at the same time. The third day came, and Esther dressed herself in all her robes as queen. She went out of her rooms and across the open court, and entered the door in the front of the throne where the king was sitting. The king saw her standing before him in all her beauty, and his heart was touched with love for her. He held out toward her the golden rod or scepter that was in his hand. Esther came near, and touched the top of the scepter. The king said to her, What do you wish, Queen Esther? It shall be given to you, even to the half of my kingdom. But Esther did not at once ask for all that was in her heart. She was very wise, and she said, If it pleases the king, I have come to ask that the king and Haman the prince shall come this day to a dinner that I have made ready for them. The king said, Send word to Haman that he haste, and come to dine with the king and queen. Till that day King Ahazurus and Haman sat at the table with the queen. She was covered with a veil, for even Haman was not allowed to look upon her face. While they were sitting together, the king said, Queen Esther, is there anything that you wish, it shall be given to you, whatever it is, even to half of the kingdom. My wish, answered the queen, is that the king and Haman shall come again to dinner with me to-morrow. Haman walked out of the palace that day, happy at the honour that had come to him. But when he saw Mordecai sitting by the gate, and not rising up to bow before him, all his gladness passed away, and he was angry in his heart. When he came to his own house, he told his wife, Zeresh and his friends, how the king and the queen had honoured him, and then he said, But all this is as nothing to me when I see that man Mordecai the Jew, sitting at the king's gate. But his wife said to him, That is nothing, before you go to the feast to-morrow, have a gallows made, and then ask the king to command that Mordecai be hanged upon it. The king will do whatever you wish, and then when you have sent Mordecai to death, you can be happy at your feast with the king and the queen. This was very pleasing to Haman, and on that very day he caused the gallows to be set up, ready for hanging Mordecai on the next day. It so happened that on that night the king could not sleep. He told them to read in the book of records of the kingdom, hoping that the reading might put him to sleep. They read in the book how Mordecai had told of the two men who had sought to murder the king. The king stopped the reading and said, What reward has been given to Mordecai for saving the life of the king from these men? O king! they answered, Nothing has been done for Mordecai. Then the king said, Is any one of the princes standing outside in the court? Yes, O king! was answered, The noble Haman is in the court. Haman had come in at that very moment to ask the king that Mordecai might be put to death. The king sent word to Haman to come in, and as soon as he entered said to him, What shall be done to any man whom the king wishes especially to honour? Now Haman thought within himself, There is no man whom the king will wish to honour more than myself, Then he said, The man whom the king wishes especially to honour, Let him be dressed in the garments of the king, And let him sit on the horse that the king rides upon, And let the royal crown be set upon his head. Let him ride through the main street of the city, And let one of the nobles call out before him. This is the man whom the king delights to honour. Then the king said to Haman, Make haste and do all this that you have said, To Mordecai the Jew, who sits in the king's gate, See that nothing is left out of what you have spoken. Haman was astonished, and was cut to the heart, But he did not dare speak as he felt. He obeyed the king's command, Sent for the king's horses, his robes, and his crown, Dressed Mordecai like a king, Mounted him on the horse, and went before him through the streets of Shushan calling aloud, This is the man whom the king delights to honour. And after that, Haman hid his anger and his sorrow of heart, and sat down to the feast in the queen's palace. He had not said a word to the king of having Mordecai hanged upon the gallows, which he had set up the day before. King Ahazurus knew very well that his queen had still some favour to ask, and at the feast he said to her, What do you wish, Queen Esther? Tell me, and I will give it to you, Even though it be half of my kingdom. Then Esther saw that her time had come. She said to the king, If I have found favour in your sight, O king, and if it please you, let my life be given me, and the lives of my people, for we have been sold, I, and all my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. If only we had been sold as slaves, I would have said nothing, but we are to be slain, in order to please our enemy. Then the king said, Who is this man, and where is he, that dared to do this thing? The enemy, said Queen Esther, Is this wicked Haman? As the king heard this he was so angry that he rose up from the table and walked out into the garden. In a moment he came back and saw Haman fallen down upon his face begging the queen to spare his life. The king looked at him in anger, and the servants at once covered Haman's face, as one doomed to death. One of the officers standing near said, There stands the gallows seventy-five feet high which Haman set up yesterday for Mordecai to be hanged upon it. Hang Haman himself on it commanded the king, so Haman died upon the very gallows that he had made for Mordecai. And on that day the king gave Haman's place to Mordecai, and set him over the princes. He gave to Mordecai his own ring, with its seal, and all the family of Haman his sons were put to death for their father's evil doing, according to the cruel usage of those times. The law for the killing of the Jews on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month had been made and sent abroad, and no law of the Persians could be changed. But though this law could not be taken back, another law was made that the Jews could defend themselves against any who might try to do them harm. When the day came most of their enemies feared to harm the Jews, for now they were under the care of the king, and Mordecai, a Jew, stood next to the king, and such of their enemies as tried to kill them on that day, were soon destroyed. So everywhere, instead of sorrow and death, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the Jews had joy and gladness. And on the day following the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the Jews kept a feast of thanksgiving to God for his mercy in saving them from their enemies. The same feast was kept on that day every year after, and is still kept among the Jews in all lands, and is called the feast of Purim. On that feast, the story of Esther, the beautiful queen, is read by all the Jewish people. End of Story 15 Story 16 of Herobot's story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Herobot's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Herobot, Part 5. The Scribe Who Wrote the Old Testament, Ezra 7.1-10.44 From the court of the great king, Eshushan, we turn once more to the Jews at Jerusalem and in Judea. For a long time after the first company came to the land under Zerobabel, C. Story 104, very few Jews from other countries joined them. The Jews in Judea were poor and discouraged. Many of them had borrowed money which they could not pay and had been sold as slaves to richer Jews. Around them on every side were their enemies, the idle worshiping people in the land and the Samaritans on the north. These enemies robbed them of their crops in the field, and they also constantly sent evil and false reports of them to the Persian governors. Many of the men of Israel had married women of the land, not of the Israelite race, and their children were growing up half-heathen and half-Jewish, unable to talk in the language of their fathers and knowing nothing of the true God. Ninety years after the Jews had come back to the land, Jerusalem was still a small town, with many of its old houses still in ruins and no wall around it. In those times no city could be safe from its enemies without a wall, so that Jerusalem lay helpless against bands of robbers who came up from the desert and carried away nearly all that the people could earn. Just at the time when the land was in the deepest need, God raised up two men to help his people. These two men were Ezra and Nehemiah. Through Ezra the people of Judah were led back to their God, to worship him, to serve him, and especially to love God's book as they had never loved it before. And about the same time Nehemiah gave new hope and courage and strength to the people by helping them to build a wall around Jerusalem. The work of these two men brought to Judea peace and plenty and led many Jews from other lands to their own country. Ezra was a priest living in the city of Babylon, though he had sprung from the family of Aaron, the first priest. He was also a prophet through whom God spoke to his people. But above all, Ezra was a lover of God's book in a time when the book of the Lord was almost forgotten. See all the books of what we call the Old Testament had been written for a long time. But in those days there were no printed books. Each copy was written separately with a pen. And as the labor was great, there were very few copies of the different books of the Bible. And these copies were in different places. One book of the Bible was in one place, another book was in another place. No one man in those times before Ezra had ever owned or had ever seen the whole of the Old Testament in one book or set of books. Ezra began to seek everywhere among the Jews for copies of these different books. Whenever he found one he wrote it out and kept the copy and also led other men to copy the books as they found them. At last Ezra had copies written of all the books in the Old Testament except the very latest books. They were written very nearly as we have them now except that his copies were all in Hebrew, the language spoken by the men who wrote most of the Old Testament. Ezra put all these different books together making one book out of many books. This great book was written on parchment or sheepskin in long rolls as in old times all books were written. When the book was finished it was called the Book of the Law because it contained God's law for his people as given through Moses and Samuel and David and Isaiah and all the other prophets. When Ezra had finished writing this Book of the Law he went on a long journey through Babylon to Judea taking with him the rolls of the book. With Ezra went a company of men whom he had taught to love the law, to write copies of it, to read it, and to teach it to others. These men who gave their lives to studying and copying and teaching the law were called scribes, a word which means writers. Ezra was the first and the greatest of these scribes but from his time there were many scribes among the Jews, both in Judea and in all other lands. For wherever the Jews lived they began to read the Bible and to love it. The time came, soon after Ezra's day, when in every place where the Jews met to worship at least one copy of all the books in the Old Testament was kept, so that there was no more danger that the Bible or any part of it would be lost. You remember that there was only one temple for all the Jews in the world and only one altar. Upon this one altar and there alone was offered the sacrifice every day. But the Jews in distant places needed to meet together for worship and there grew up among the Jews everywhere what was called the synagogue, a word which means coming together. At first they met in a room but afterward they built houses for the synagogues much like our churches. Some of these synagogues were large and beautiful and in them the people met every week to worship God, to sing the psalms, to hear the law and the prophets read, and to talk together about what they had heard. It was something like a prayer meeting for any Jew who wished to speak in the meeting could do so. The men sat on mats laid on the floor. The rulers of the synagogue were on seats raised up above the rest. The women were in a gallery on one side covered with a lattice work so that they could see and hear but could not be seen. And on the end of the room nearest to Jerusalem there was a large box or chest called the Ark, within which were kept the copies of the books of the Old Testament. Thus through the synagogue all Jews in the world listened to the reading of the Old Testament until very many of them knew every word of it by heart. All this came to pass from Ezra's work in copying and teaching the word of the Lord. And Ezra wrought another work almost as great as that of giving the Bible to the world. He taught the Jewish people first in Israel and then in other lands that they were the people of God and that they must live apart from other nations. If they had gone on marrying women of other races who worshiped other gods after a time there would have been no Jews and no worshipers of God. Ezra made some of them give up their wives of other nations and he taught the Jews to be a people by themselves, keeping away from those who worshiped idols even though they lived among them. Thus Ezra led the Jews to look upon themselves as a holy people given up to the service of God and he taught them to live apart from other nations with their own customs and ways of living and very exact in obeying the law of God in the books given by Moses, even in some things that would seem small and not important. They were to be trained age after age in the service and worship of God. It was God's will that the Jews should be separate from other peoples and very strict in keeping their law until the time should come for them to go out and preach the gospel to all the world. The Jews even now in our time continued to keep many of the rules that were given to their fathers long ago by Ezra. Though next to Moses, Ezra had greater power over the Jews than any other prophet or teacher. End of Story 16. Story number 17 of Halbot's Story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Halbot's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Halbot, Part 5. The Noble Man Who Built the Wall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah Chapter 1, Verse 1 to Verse 73 of Chapter 7. While the good scribe Ezra was at work finding the books of the Bible and copying them and teaching them, another great man was helping God's people in another way. This man was Nehemiah. He was a noble man of high rank at the court of the Great King Atazaxis. Atazaxis reigned after Ahasuerus, of whom we read in the Story of the Beautiful Queen Esther. Story 106. Nehemiah was a cup bearer to the king of Pasha, Ashushan. It was his office to take charge of all the wine that was used at the king's table. To pour it out and hand the cup to the king. This was an important office, for he saw the king every day at his meals, and could speak with him as very few of even the highest princes could speak. Then, too, the life of the king was in his hands. For if he were an enemy, he could have allowed poison to be put into the wine to kill the king. So the cup bearer was always a man whom the king could trust as his friend. Nehemiah was a Jew, and like all the Jews, felt a great love for Jerusalem. At one time, a Jew named Hanani, and certain of his friends, who had come from Jerusalem, visited Nehemiah. Nehemiah asked them, how are the Jews in Jerusalem doing? How does the city look? And they answered, the people who are living in the land of Judea are very poor, and are looked down upon by all around them. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire. When Nehemiah heard this, he was filled with sorrow for his city and his people. After the Jews left him, he sat down for days and would eat nothing. He fasted and wept and prayed. He said, O Lord God of heaven, the great God who keeps his promises to those who love him and do his will. Here, O Lord, my prayer for the people of Israel, thy silence, we have done very wickedly, O Lord, and because of our sins, thou hast scattered us among the nations. Now, O Lord, give me grace this day in the sight of this man, the king of Persia, and may the king help me to do good and to help my people in the land of Israel. A few days after this, Nehemiah was standing beside the king's table, while the king and queen were seated at their meal. As he poured out the wine, the king saw that his face was sad, which was not usual, for Nehemiah was of cheerful spirits and generally showed a happy face. The king said to him, Nehemiah, why do you look so sad? You do not seem to be sick. I am sure that there is something that gives you trouble. What is it? Tell me. Then Nehemiah was afraid that the king might be displeased with him. What he said, let the king live forever. Why should not my face be sad? When the city where my fathers are buried lies waste, with its walls broken down and its gates burned with fire. The king said, do you wish to ask of me any favor? Tell me what I can do to help you. Then Nehemiah lifted up a silent prayer to God and said, may it please the king. I would be glad if you would send me to Jerusalem in the land of Judah, with an order to build the walls. The king said, how long will the journey be, and when will you come back? Nehemiah fixed upon a time and told the king how long it would be, and he asked also that he might have letters to the men who ruled the different provinces through which he would pass, for them to give him a safe journey, and also a letter to the keeper of the king's forest, to give him wood for the beams of a house which he wished to build, and for repairing the temple and for building the wall. The king was kind to Nehemiah, and he gave him all that he asked. Nehemiah, with a company of horsemen and many friends, made the long journey of almost a thousand miles to Jerusalem. All the people were glad to have a visit from a man of such high rank, and the whole city rejoiced at his coming. But Nehemiah was distressed as she saw how poor and mean and helpless the city lay. One night, without telling any of the men in the city, his purpose, he rose up with a few of his friends, and by the light of the moon rode on his horse around the city. There he saw in how many places the walls were mere heaps of rints, and gates were broken down and burned. He found great heaps of ashes and parts of stone, so that in some places his horse could not walk over them. The next day he called together the rulers of the city and the chief priests, and he said to them, You see how poor and helpless the city lies, without walls or gates, and open to all its enemies. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, so that no longer other people may look upon us with contempt. Then he told them how God had heard his prayer and had made the king friendly, and had sent gifts to help them. Then the people and the rulers said, Let us rise up and build the wall. So at once they began the work. Each family in Jerusalem agreed to build a part of the wall. The high priests said that he would build one of the gates, and the wall beside it to a certain tower. Some of the rich men built a long space, and others did very little, and some would do nothing. One man built just as much of the wall as would stand in front of his house, and no more, and another man only as much as fronted upon his own room. One man and his daughters hired workers to build. The goldsmiths built some, and so did the apothecaries, the men who sold medicines, and the merchants built a part. Almost all the men of the city and some of the women took part in the building, for the people had a mind to work. Soon the news went abroad through Judea and the lands around, that the walls of Jerusalem were rising from their ruins. There were many who were far from pleased as they had this, for they hated the Jews and their God, and they did not wish to see Jerusalem strong as it had been of old. The leader of these enemies was a man named Sanbalat, who came from Samaria, where all the people were jealous of the Jews. What are these Fibu Jews doing, said Sanbalat? Do they intend to make their city strong? Will they pile up stones out of the rubbish of the burned city? And his servant Tobiah was with him saying, why, if a fork should go up, he could break down their little wall. The Arabians from the desert, and the Philistines from Ashdod on the plain, and the Ammonites from the east of Jordan, saw that if the wall should be built, they could no more rub and plunder the city. They tried to form an army to come against the city and stop building. But Nehemiah prayed to God for help, and he chose what men who should go around the wall and look out for the coming of the enemies. Half of Nehemiah's men walked on the wall, and the other half held the bulls and spears and armor of the workers. And in some places, a man would hold a spear in one hand, while he spread mortar with the other. At other places, men walked with their swords hanging at one side, ready for the fight any moment. Nehemiah rode on his horse around the wall, and his servant walked beside him with a trumpet. He said, the walk is large, and you are apart from each other. Whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, leave your walk, take your arms, and go to the place where it sounds, and there the Lord will fight for us. But the enemies were not strong enough to fight the Jews. So Sandballat and Tobiah, and another of their leaders named Geshem, sent a letter to Nehemiah saying, come and meet us in one of the villages on the plain near the Great Sea, and let us talk over this matter. Now Nehemiah knew that to go to this place, and then come back again to Jerusalem would take more than a week. And he sent Ansathos, I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it to come down and talk with you? Over and over again they sent for Nehemiah, but he refused to come. Finally, Sandballat set a letter with this message. It is told among all the people, and Geshem says it's a fact, that you are building this city to rebel against the king of Persia, and to set up a kingdom of your own. Come now and let us talk with you, or trouble may come to you. Nehemiah wrote back, you know very well, that there is no truth in all the stories. You have made them up yourselves. Some of the Jews in the city were friendly to these enemies outside, and these men tried to frighten Nehemiah. One of them made believe that he was a prophet, and set in Nehemiah. Go into the temple and hide, for in the night your enemies will come to kill you. Should such a man as I am run away and hide himself, said Nehemiah, no, I will not go. So, earnestly, did the men of Judah work, that in 52 days, after the work was begun, it was finished, and the gates were hung, and guards were placed with them, so that no enemies might enter. Thus Jerusalem began to rise from its weakness and helplessness, and once more, to be a strong city. End of story number 17. Chapter 8, verse 1 to chapter 13, verse 31. Malachi, chapter 1, verse 1 to chapter 4, verse 6. When the wall of Jerusalem was finished, Nehemiah called together all the Jews from the villages and cities in the land to meet in Jerusalem. They met a great company with their wives and children in an open place before the temple. Ezra, the good priest and scribe who had wrote so great a work in bringing together and writing the books of the Old Testament, was in the city at that time. They asked Ezra to bring the book and to read the law of the Lord to the people. He came, carrying with him the great roles upon which the law was written, and stood upon a pulpit which they had built where all the people could see him. And with Ezra were men whom he had taught in the law so that they could teach it to others. When Ezra stood up in the pulpit, above the heads of the people, and unrolled the scroll, all the people who had been sitting upon the ground rose up while Ezra gave thanks to the Lord, who had given to them his law. Then the people said, ah, men, with a loud voice, and they bowed until their heads touched the ground and worshiped. Then Ezra began to read in the book aloud so that as many people as possible could hear. But as the people did not all understand the Old Hebrew tongue in which the book was written, men were chosen to stand by Ezra, and as he read each sentence, these men explained it to the people while all the people stood listening. So, as Ezra read, these men told its meaning so that the people could understand the word of the Lord. Many of the people had never heard God's law read before, and they wept as they listened to it. But Nehemiah, who was there as the ruler, said to them, this day is holy to the Lord. Do not mourn, nor weep, but rather be glad and eat and drink and send gifts of food to those who are in need, for you are strong in the Lord and should be joyful. And the Levites quieted the people, saying, hold your peace for the day is holy. Do not weep, but be glad in the Lord. And all the people went home to feast and to be glad because they could hear and understand the words of God's law. After this another great meeting was held, and the people confessed their sins before God, and the sins of their fathers in forsaking God's law and in not doing His will. And all the people made a solemn promise that they would keep God's law and would do His will, that they would be God's people and no more give their sons to marry women who did not worship the Lord, that they would keep holy God's day, the Sabbath, and they would give to the Lord's house for all the offerings. And they wrote the promise on a rule, and all the princes and rulers and priests signed it and placed their seals upon it. Nehemiah had now finished the work for which he had made the long journey to Jerusalem. He went back to Shushan and stood once more in his place, pouring the wine at the king's table. But after some years he came again to Jerusalem. He found that not all the people had fulfilled their promises to serve the Lord, and especially that the Sabbath day was not kept as it should be. People were treading wine presses and bringing into the city loads of grain and selling wine and grapes and figs on the Sabbath day. And men from the city of Tyre, beside the Great Sea, who were not worshippers of the Lord, brought in fish and sold them on the Sabbath. When Nehemiah saw all these evils, he was greatly displaced and said to the rulers of the city, Why do you allow these evil things to be done and the Sabbath day to be broken? Were not these the very things that made God angry with our fathers so that he let this city be destroyed? Will you bring God's anger upon us again by doing such things on God's holy day? Then Nehemiah gave orders that before the sunset, on the evening before the Sabbath, the gates of the city should be shut and not opened until the morning after the Sabbath was over. The men came with their things to be sold and waited outside for the gates to be opened. Nehemiah looked over the wall and saw them and said to them, What are you doing here? If you come here again on the Sabbath, I will put you in prison. Then they went away and came no more upon the holy day. By such strong acts as these, Nehemiah led the people to a more faithful service of the Lord. And after this, Jerusalem grew large and strong and was full of people. And Jews from other lands began to come to live in the land until it was once more filled with cities and towns and the hills over all the land were covered with vineyards and the plains were waving with fields of grain. A little after the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, Malachi arose as the last of the prophets of the Old Testament. Thus saved the Lord. Behold, I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me. And the Lord shall suddenly come to his temple. Behold, he cometh, saith the Lord. Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the great day of the Lord shall come. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers. And with these words, the Old Testament ends.