The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Esdras 01
The First Book of Esdras
The First Book of Esdras is recognized
as Deuterocanonical Scripture by the
Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox
Churches. It is not recognized by the
Roman Catholic Church, but 1 Esdras is
placed as an appendix to the Latin Vulgate
Bible.
1 *Josias held the Passover in Jerusalem
to his Lord, and offered the Passover the
fourteenth day of the first month,
2 having setthe priests according to their
daily courses, being arrayed in their
vestments, in the Lord’s temple.
3 He spoke to the Levites, *the temple
servants of Israel, that they should make
themselves holy to the Lord, to set the holy
ark of the Lord in the house that King
Solomon the son of David had built.
4 He said, “You no longer need to carry
it on your shoulders. Now therefore serve
the Lord your God, and minister to his
people Israel, and prepare yourselves by
your fathers’ houses and kindred,
5 according to the writing of King David
of Israel, and according to the magnificence
of Solomon his son. Stand in the
holy place according to the divisions of
your Levite families who minister in the
presence of your kindred the descendants
of Israel.
6 Offer the Passover in order, prepare
the sacrifices for your kindred, and keep
the Passover according to the Lord’s
commandment, which was given to Moses.
7 To the people which were present,
Josias gave thirty thousand lambs and
kids, and three thousand calves. These
things were given from the king’s
possessions, as he promised, to the people and to
the priests and Levites.
8 Helkias, Zacharias, and †Esyelus, the
rulers of the temple, gave to the priests
for the Passover two thousand sixhundred
sheep, and three hundred calves.
9 Jeconias, Samaias, Nathanael his
brother, Sabias, Ochielus, and Joram,
captains over thousands, gave to the
Levites for the Passover five thousand
sheep and seven hundred calves.
10 When these things were done, the
priests and Levites, having the unleavened
bread, stood in proper order according to
the kindred,
11 and according to the several divisions
by fathers’ houses, before the people, to
offer to the Lord as it is written in the book
of Moses. They did this in the morning.
12 They roasted the Passover lamb with
fire, as required. They boiled the sacrifices
in the brazen vessels and caldrons with a
pleasing smell,
13 and set them before all the people.
Afterward they prepared for themselves
and for their kindred the priests, the sons
of Aaron.
14 For the priests offered the fat until
night. The Levites prepared for themselves
and for their kindred the priests, the
sons of Aaron.
15 The holy singers also, the sons of Asaph,
were in their order, according to the
appointment of David: Asaph, Zacharias,
and Eddinus, who represented the king.
16 Moreover the gatekeepers were at every gate.
No one needed to depart from his daily duties,
for their kindred the Levites
prepared for them.
17 So the things that belonged to the
Lord’s sacrifices were accomplished in
that day, in holding the Passover,
18 and offering sacrifices on the altar of
the Lord, according to the commandment
of King Josias.
19 So the children of Israel which were
present at that time held the Passover and
the feast of unleavened bread seven days.
20 Such a Passover had not been held
in Israel since the time of the prophet
Samuel.
21 Indeed, none ofthe kings ofIsrael held
such a Passover as Josias with the priests,
the Levites, and the Jews, held with all
Israel that were present in their dwelling
place at Jerusalem.
22 This Passover was held in the eighteenth
year of the reign of Josias.
23 The works of Josias were upright before
his Lord with a heart full of godliness.
24 Moreover the things that came to pass
in his days have been written in times
past, concerning those who sinned and
did wickedly against the Lord more than
any other people or kingdom, and how
they grieved him ‡exceedingly, so that the
Lord’s words were confirmed against Israel.
25 *Now after all these acts of Josias,
it came to pass that Pharaoh the king of
Egypt came to make war at Carchemish on
the Euphrates; and Josias went out
against him.
26 But the king of Egypt sent to him, saying,
“What do I have to do with you, O king
of Judea?
27 I wasn’t sent out from the Lord God
against you, for my war is against the
Euphrates. Now the Lord is with me, yes,
the Lord is with me hastening me forward.
Depart from me, and don’t be against the Lord.”
28 However, Josias didn’t turn back to his
chariot, but tried to fight with him, not
regarding the words ofthe prophetJeremy
from the Lord’s mouth,
29 but joined battle with him in the plain
of Megiddo, and the commanders came
down against King Josias.
30 Then the king said to his servants,
“Carry me away out of the battle, for I
am very weak!” Immediately his servants
carried him away out of the army.
31 Then he got into his second chariot.
After he was brought back to Jerusalem he
died, and was buried in the tomb of his
ancestors.
32 All Judea mourned for Josias. Jeremy
the prophet lamented for Josias, and the
chief men with the women made lamentation
for him to this day. This was given out
for an ordinance to be done continually in
all the nation of Israel.
33 These things are written in the book
of the histories of the kings of Judea, and
every one of the acts that Josias did, and
his glory, and his understanding in the law
of the Lord, and the things that he had
done before, and the things now told, are
reported in the book of the kings of Israel
and Judah.
34 * The people took §Joachaz the son
of Josias, and made him king instead of
Josias his father, when he was
twentythree years old.
35 He reigned in Judah and Jerusalem
for three months. Then the king of Egypt
deposed him from reigning in Jerusalem.
36 He set a tax upon the people of one
hundred talents of silver and one talent of
gold.
37 The king of Egypt also made King
Joakim his brother king of Judea and
Jerusalem.
38 And Joakim imprisoned the nobles
and apprehended his brother Zarakes, and
brought him up out of Egypt.
39 *Joakim was twenty-five years old
when he began to reign in Judea and
Jerusalem. He did that which was evil in
the sight of the Lord.
40 King Nabuchodonosor of Babylon
came up against him, bound him with a
chain of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
41 Nabuchodonosor also took some ofthe
Lord’s holy vessels, carried them away,
and stored theminhis owntemple atBabylon.
42 But those things that are reported of
him, and of his uncleanness and impiety,
are written in the chronicles of the kings.
43 Then Joakim his son reigned in his
place. When he was made king, he was
eighteen years old.
44 He reigned three months and ten days
in Jerusalem. He did that which was evil
before the Lord.
45 So after a year Nabuchodonosor sent
and caused him to be brought to Babylon
with the holy vessels of the Lord,
46 and made Sedekias king of Judea and
Jerusalem when he was twenty-one years
old. He reigned eleven years.
47 He also did that which was evil in
the sight of the Lord, and didn’t heed the
words that were spoken by Jeremy the
prophet from the Lord’s mouth.
48 After King Nabuchodonos or had made
him to swear by the name of the Lord, he
broke his oath and rebelled. Hardening
his neck and his heart, he transgressed the
laws of the Lord, the God of Israel.
49 Moreover the governors of the people and
of the priests did many things
wickedly, exceeding all the defilements of
all nations, and defiled the temple of the
Lord, which was sanctified in Jerusalem.
50 The God of their ancestors sent by
his messenger to call them back, because
he had compassion on them and on his
dwelling place.
51 But they mocked his messengers. In
the day when the Lord spoke, they scoffed
at his prophets
52 until he, being angry with his people
for their great ungodliness, commanded to
bring up the kings ofthe Chaldeans against
them.
53 They killed their young men with
the sword around their holy temple,
and spared neither young man or young
woman, old man or child; but he delivered
all of them into their hands.
54 They took all the holy vessels of the
Lord, both great and small, with the
treasure chests of the Lord’s ark and the king’s
treasures, and carried them away to Babylon.
55 They burned the Lord’s house, broke
down Jerusalem’s walls, and burned its
towers with fire.
56 As for her glorious things, they didn’t
stop until they had brought them all to
nothing. He carried the people who
weren’t slain with the sword to Babylon.
57 They were servants to him and to his
children until the Persians reigned, to
ful fill the word of the Lord by the mouth of
Jeremy:
58 “Until the land has enjoyed its Sabbaths,
the whole time of her desolation
shall she keep Sabbath, to ful fill seventy years.