And let that temple of God be built by the governor of the Jews, and by their ancients, that they may build that house of God in its place.8 I also have commanded what must be done by those ancients of the Jews, that the house of God may be built, to wit, that of the king’s chest, that is, of the tribute that is paid out of the country beyond the river, the charges be diligently given to those men, lest the work be hindered.12 And may the God, that hath caused his name to dwell there, destroy all kingdoms, and the people that shall put out their hand to resist, and to destroy the house of God, that is in Jerusalem. I Darius have made the decree, which I will have diligently complied with.14 And the ancients of the Jews built and prospered according to the prophecy of Aggeus the prophet, and of Zacharias the son of Addo: and they built and finished, by the commandment of the God of Israel, and by the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes kings of the Persians.15 And they were finishing this house of God, until the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of king Darius.16 And the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity kept the dedication of the house of God with joy.17 And they offered at the dedication of the house of God, a, hundred calves, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and for a sin offering for all Israel twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.18 And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses over the works of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.19 And the children of Israel of the captivity kept the phase, on the fourteenth day of the first month.20 For all the priests and the Levites were purified as one man: all were clear to kill the phase for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and themselves.
And there was nothing astonishing in God having done this,-He who, when, during the captivity of the people under Nebuchadnezzar, the Scriptures had been corrupted, and when, after seventy years, the Jews had returned to their own land, then, in the times of Artaxerxes king of the Persians, inspired Esdras the priest, of the tribe of Levi, to recast all the words of the former prophets, and to re-establish with the people the Mosaic legislation.
I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: We shall go into the house of the Lord.2 Our feet were standing in thy courts, O Jerusalem.3 Jerusalem, which is built as a city, which is compact together.4 For thither did the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord: the testimony of Israel, to praise the name of the Lord.4 For thither did the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord: the testimony of Israel, to praise the name of the Lord.5 Because their seats have sat in judgment, seats upon the house of David.
These are the feet that David washes in spirit when he teaches you how to keep them unsoiled, saying, "Our feet have been standing in your courts, O Jerusalem." Certainly, here "feet" is to be understood not as of the body but as of the soul. For how could a person on earth have his physical feet in heaven? Since Jerusalem, as Paul tells you, is in heaven, he also shows you how to stand in heaven when he says, "But our abode is in heaven": 2 the "abode" of your behavior, the "abode" of your deeds, the "abode" of your faith.
And his mother and brethren came unto him; and they could not come at him for the crowd.20 And it was told him: Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee.21 Who answering, said to them: My mother and my brethren are they who hear the word of God, and do it.
Our Lord had left His kinsfolk according to the flesh, and was occupied in His Father’s teaching. But when they began to feel His absence, they came unto Him, as it is said, Then came unto him his mother and his brethren. When you hear of our Lord’s brethren you must include also the notions of piety and grace. For no one in regard of His divine nature is the brother of the Saviour, (for He is the Only-begotten,) but He has, by the grace of piety, made us partakers in His flesh and His blood, and He who is by nature God has become our brother.
His brethren thought that when He heard of their presence He would send away the people, from respect to His mother’s name, and from His affection towards her, as it follows, And it was told him, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without.
About CSB. A personal translation of the New Testament, rendered directly from the public-domain Greek in a literary style — not a scholarly critical edition, and not for liturgical or doctrinal authority. It is one reader's work, offered for enjoyment; where it matters, weigh it against an established translation. (Placeholder text — final wording to come.)