David’s Preparations for the Temple

² So David gave orders to gather the resident aliens that were in the land of Israel,^(A) and he appointed stonecutters to cut finished stones for building God’s house.^(B)

⁴ Let every survivor,^(A) wherever he resides, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.”

Gifts for the Work

⁶⁸ After they arrived at the Lord’s house in Jerusalem, some of the family heads gave freewill offerings^(A) for the house of God in order to have it rebuilt on its original site.

Rebuilding the Temple

⁸ In the second month of the second year after they arrived at God’s house in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak,^(A) and the rest of their brothers, including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began to build. They appointed the Levites who were twenty years old or more to supervise the work on the Lord’s house.^(B)

Rebuilding of the Temple Resumed

²⁴ Now the construction of God’s house in Jerusalem had stopped and remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.^(A)