1 Esdras 5 — Church Fathers

Douay-Rheims

2 Paralipomenon

Chapter 4

Chapter 6

2 Esdras

Chapter 5

1 Esdras 5:1-17

ZERUBBABEL AND JESHUA RESUME THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE

3 entries

1 And there prophesied Aggæus the Prophet, and Zacharias the son of Addo, prophesying to the Jews, that were in Jewry and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel. 3 notes

2 Then rose up Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, and Josue the son of Josedec, and began to build the temple of God in Jerusalem, and with them the Prophets of God helping them. 3 notes

3 But at the same time there came to them Thathanai, who was Prince beyond the River, and Stharbuzanai, and their counsellers: and said thus to them: Who hath given you counsel to build this house, and to repair the walls? 3 notes

4 Whereto we answered them, what the names were of the men that were authors of that building. 3 notes

5 And the eye of their God was set upon the ancients of the Jews, and they could not inhibit them. And it pleased them that the matter should be referred to Darius, and then they would satisfy against that accusation. 3 notes

6 The copy of the epistle, which Thathanai Prince of the country beyond the River sent, and Stharbuzanai, and his counsellers the Arphasacheites, which were beyond the River, to Darius the king. 3 notes

7 The word, which they sent him, was written thus: To Darius the king all peace. 3 notes

8 Be it known to the king, that we went to Jury, the province, to the house of the great God, which is in building with stone unpolished, and timber is put in the walls: and that work is in building diligently, and groweth in their hands. 3 notes

9 We therefore demanded of those ancients, and thus we said to them: Who hath given you authority to build this house, and to repair these walls? 3 notes

10 Yea and their names we asked of them, that we might certify thee: and we writ the names of those men, that are the chief amongst them. 3 notes

11 And they answered us these words, saying: We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we do build a temple, that was built these many years before, and which a great king of Israel built and set up. 3 notes

12 But after that our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, he delivered them into the hands of Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon the Chaldee: this house also he destroyed, and his people he transported into Babylon. 3 notes

13 But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon, Cyrus the king put forth an edict, that this house of God should be built. 3 notes

14 For the vessels also of the temple of God, of gold and of silver, which Nabuchodonosor had taken out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and had carried them into the temple of Babylon, Cyrus the king brought forth out of the temple of Babylon, and they were given to Sassabasar so called, whom also he appointed the chief, 3 notes

15 and said to him: Take these vessels, and go, and put them in the temple, that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built in his place. 3 notes

16 Then therefore came this Sassabasar, and laid the foundations of the temple of God in Jerusalem, & from that time until now it is in building, & is not yet finished. 3 notes

17 Now therefore if it seem good to the king, let him search in the king's library, which is in Babylon, whether it hath been commanded by Cyrus the king, that the house of God in Jerusalem should be built, and let him send the king's pleasure concerning this thing unto us. 3 notes

3 entries

1 Esdras 5:1-17 3 entries

ZERUBBABEL AND JESHUA RESUME THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE

THE EXHORTATIONS OF HAGGAI AND ZECHARIAH.

St. Bede the Venerable (c. 672–735)

Now the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews. . . . These things are reported in full detail in the books of the same prophets. And with their words they reproached the laziness of those who had been negligent in the reconstruction of the temple and exhorted them to work with the help of God. And thanks to their exhortation and devotion, Zerubabbel and Jeshua together with the entire people set out to rebuild the house of the Lord. And certainly the prophet Haggai began with these words: In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and to Joshua,^[1] son of Jehozadak, the high priest: Thus says the Lord of the hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house. Then the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying: Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses while this house lies in ruins?^[2] And a bit further: And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month.^[3] And as a sequel to the words that we have quoted above: The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts.^[4] In the same way Zechariah begins: In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you.^[5]

On Ezra and Nehemiah 2.6

TO BURN FOR RIGHTEOUS PURSUITS.

St. Bede the Venerable (c. 672–735)

The literal meaning is clear, namely, that the leaders of the Jews, strengthened by the prophets’ words, could not be hindered by the harrying of the enemies from the holy work, from which they had ceased out of fear of the enemies when the prophets still remained silent. This occurs in the same way in the holy church now when those who have been held back by the attacks of wicked people or spirits and have remained for a while rather lax with respect to good deeds are suddenly set straight by the words either of faithful teachers or of the divine Scriptures and begin to burn so greatly for righteous pursuits that they cannot be overcome by any wiles of temptations or be called back from what they intended to do.

On Ezra and Nehemiah 2.6

OLD AND NEW STONES.

St. Bede the Venerable (c. 672–735)

This letter that Tattenai writes to Darius is very different from the one Rehum and Shimsahi^[1] wrote to Arta-xerxes. That letter was filled with accusation of the people of Jerusalem, this one with praise not only of the people but also of almighty God. Indeed, it begins as follows: To Darius the king, all peace: Let it be known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, which is built with unfinished stone, and the timbers are being laid in the walls; and the work is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress in their hands. So we questioned those elders and spoke to them as follows, ‘Who gave you the authority to build this house?’ and so on. In these words we should also note in what sense it is said that God’s house was built from ‘unfinished stone,’^[2] when it is evident that such a great work could only have been built from finished stones. Yet by ‘unfinished stone’ we should understand new stone, which they themselves discovered unhewn but, by shaping it up, made it suitable for the building of the Lord’s house. For even though some of the old stones remained, which, as the lamenting Jeremiah shows, were scattered ‘at the end of every street,’^[3] yet no one can doubt that new stones also had to be shaped to complete the work of the temple. The mystery of this matter is undoubtedly plain, since we have seen that God’s church is built not only from those who by repenting regain their senses and return to the life of holiness that they have previously squandered by sinning, but also from those who have recently been called to the faith, arranged by the instruction of teachers as though with the measuring rod of builders and so inserted into the edifice of the Lord’s house in a place appropriate to themselves. Yet the fact that the temple was built from both old and new stones, that is, both from stones that had been finished long previously and from those that had remained unfinished for longer, can also rightly be interpreted as corresponding to the fact that the one church of Christ is assembled from both peoples, namely, Jews and Gentiles—the Jews who long since had been as though finished through knowledge and mindfulness of God’s law, the Gentiles who, being enslaved to idolatry, had not by any industry of spiritual architects or any cultivation of piety divested themselves of the ugliness of a rustic and earthly mind.

On Ezra and Nehemiah 2.6