2 John 1; Ezra 5; Ezra 6; Psalms 93

2 John 1

1 The Elder: To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth-and not only I, but also all who have come to know the truth-

2 because of the truth that remains in us and will be with us forever.

3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

4 I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, in keeping with a command we have received from the Father.

5 So now I urge you, lady-not as if I were writing you a new command, but one we have had from the beginning-that we love one another.

6 And this is love: that we walk according to His commands. This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: you must walk in love.

7 Many deceivers have gone out into the world; they do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.

8 Watch yourselves so that you don't lose what we have worked for, but you may receive a full reward.

9 Anyone who does not remain in the teaching about Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God. The one who remains in that teaching, this one has both the Father and the Son.

10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home, and don't say, "Welcome," to him;

11 for the one who says, "Welcome," to him shares in his evil works.

12 Though I have many things to write to you, I don't want to do so with paper and ink. Instead, I hope to be with you and talk face to face so that our joy may be complete.

13 The children of your elect sister send you greetings.

Ezra 5

1 But when the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them,

2 Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak began to rebuild God's house in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, helping them.

3 At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues came to the Jews and asked, "Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure?"

4 They also asked them, "What are the names of the workers who are constructing this building?"

5 But God was watching over the Jewish elders. These men wouldn't stop them until a report was sent to Darius, so that they could receive written instructions about this [matter].

6 This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius.

7 They sent him a report, written as follows: To King Darius: All greetings.

8 Let it be known to the king that we went to the house of the great God in the province of Judah. It is being built with cut stones, and its beams are being set in the walls. This work is being done diligently and succeeding through the people's efforts.

9 So we questioned the elders and asked, "Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure?"

10 We also asked them for their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.

11 This is the reply they gave us: We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth and are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.

12 But since our fathers angered the God of heaven, He handed them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.

13 However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, he issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.

14 He also took from the temple in Babylon the gold and silver articles of God's house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and carried [them] to the temple in Babylon. He released them from the temple in Babylon to a man named Sheshbazzar, the governor by the appointment of King Cyrus.

15 He told him, 'Take these articles, put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its [original] site.'

16 Then this same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of God's house in Jerusalem. It has been under construction from that time until now, yet it has not been completed.

17 So if it pleases the king, let a search of the royal archives in Babylon be conducted [to see] if it is true that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Let the king's decision regarding [this matter] be sent to us.

Ezra 6

1 King Darius gave the order, and they searched in the library of Babylon in the archives.

2 But it was in the fortress of Ecbatana in the province of Media that a scroll was found with this record written on it:

3 In the first year of King Cyrus, he issued a decree concerning the house of God in Jerusalem: Let the house be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices, and let its [original] foundations be retained. Its height is to be 90 feet and its width 90 feet,

4 with three layers of cut stones and one of timber. The cost is to be paid from the royal treasury.

5 The gold and silver articles of God's house that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon must also be returned. They are to be brought to the temple in Jerusalem, where they belong, and put into the house of God.

6 Therefore, you must stay away from that place, Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and your colleagues, the officials in the region.

7 Leave the construction of this house of God alone. Let the governor and elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its [original] site.

8 I hereby issue a decree concerning what you must do, so that the elders of the Jews can rebuild this house of God: The cost is to be paid in full to these men out of the royal revenues from the taxes of the region west of the Euphrates River, so that the [work] will not stop.

9 Whatever is needed-young bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, or wheat, salt, wine, and oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem-let it be given to them every day without fail,

10 so that they can offer sacrifices of pleasing aroma to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons.

11 I also issue a decree concerning any man who interferes with this directive: Let a beam be torn from his house and raised up; he will be impaled on it, and his house will be made into a garbage dump because of this [offense].

12 May the God who caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who dares to harm or interfere with this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued the decree. Let it be carried out diligently.

13 Then Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues diligently carried out what King Darius had decreed.

14 So the Jewish elders continued successfully with the building under the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished the building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes of Persia.

15 This house was completed on the third day of the month of Adar in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

16 Then the Israelites, including the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.

17 For the dedication of God's house they offered 100 bulls, 200 rams, and 400 lambs, as well as 12 male goats as a sin offering for all Israel-one for each Israelite tribe.

18 They also appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their groups to the service of God in Jerusalem, according to what is written in the book of Moses.

19 The exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.

20 All of the priests and Levites were ceremonially clean, because they had purified themselves. They killed the Passover lamb for themselves, their priestly brothers, and all the exiles.

21 The Israelites who had returned from exile ate [it], together with all who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the Gentiles of the land in order to worship the Lord, the God of Israel.

22 They observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the Lord had made them joyful, having changed the Assyrian king's attitude toward them, so that he supported them in the work on the house of the God of Israel.

Psalms 93

1 The Lord reigns! He is robed in majesty; The Lord is robed, enveloped in strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.

2 Your throne has been established from the beginning; You are from eternity.

3 The floods have lifted up, Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their pounding waves.

4 Greater than the roar of many waters- the mighty breakers of the sea- the Lord on high is majestic.

5 Lord, Your testimonies are completely reliable; holiness is the beauty of Your house for all the days to come.