A    ^noteNow when kyng Cyrus raigned ouer the Persians, ∧ when þe; Lord wolde perfourme þe; worde that he had promised by the mouth of the prohet Ieremy: the Lord raysed vp þe; sprete of Cyrus, the kynge of Persians, so that he caused thys wrytynge to be proclaymed thorow oute hys whole realme, sayinge: Thus sayeth the kynge of Persians: The Lorde of Israel that hye Lorde hath made me kynge of the lande, and c&obar;maunded me to buylde hym an house at Ierusalem in Iewry. ^note If there be eny now of youre people, the Lord be with hym, and go vp with him to Ierusalem. And all they that dwell rounde aboute that place shall helpe them, whether it be with golde, &wt; syluer, &wt; gyftes, &wt; horses, and necessary catell, ∧ all other thynges that are brought with a fre wyll to the house of the Lorde at Ierusalem.

Then the pryncipall men out of the trybes and vyllages of Iuda and Beniamin stode vp: so dyd the prestes also and the Leuites (whom þe; Lorde had moued) to go vp, and to buylde the house of the Lorde at Ierusalem. And they that were aboute them, helped them with al maner of golde, and syluer, and catell also, and with many liberall gyftes, and thys dyd many one, whose mynde was stered vp ther to. ^note B   Kynge Cyrus also brought forth the vessels and ornamentes that were halowed vnto the Lorde, (whych Nabuchodonosor the kyng of Babylon had caryed awaye from Ierusalem, and consecrated them to hys Idoll ∧ ymage) and delyuered them to Mythrydatus hys treasurer, and by hym they were delyuered

to Salmanasar þe; debite in Iewry. And this was þe; n&obar;bre of them: Two thousand ∧ .iiii.C. syluer boules .xxx. syluer basens .xxx. basens of golde .ii.M. and .iiii.C. vessels of syluer, ∧ a thousande besyde. All þe; vessels of golde ∧ syluer were .v.M.viii.C. ∧ .lx. These were n&obar;bred vnto Salmanasar, ∧ to them þt; were come agayne &wt; hym to Ierusalem out of þe; captyuyte of Babylon. ^noteNow in þe; tyme of kyng Artaxerses þe; kyng of Persia, these men. Balemus and Mitridatus, Sabellius, Rathimus, Balthemus, Semelius the Scribe, and other þt; dwelt in Samaria ∧ in other places vnder þe; domyny&obar; therof, wrote a letter vnto kynge Artaxerses, wherin they c&obar;playned vnto þe; kynge of them in Iewry ∧ Ierusalem. The letter was made after thys maner.

C   Syr, thy serua&ubar;tes Rathimus the story wryter, Sabellius the Scribe, ∧ other iudges of the courte in Celosyria ∧ Phenyces. Be it knowne ∧ manyfest to oure Lorde þe; kyng, þt; the Iewes which are come vp from you vnto vs into þe; rebellious ∧ wycked cytye, begynne to buylde it agayne, ∧ the walles aboute it, ∧ to sett vp the temple a new. Now yf thys cytye ∧ þe; walles therof be set vp agayne, they shall not onely refuse to geue trybutes ∧ taxes, but also rebell vtterly agaynst the kynge. And for so moch as they take thys in h&abar;de now aboute þe; t&ebar;ple, we thought it reason, to thynke no scorne of it, but to shewe it vnto oure Lorde the kyng, ∧ to certyfye hym therof: to thint&ebar;t þt; yf it please the kyng, he may cause it to be sought in þe; bokes of olde: and þu; shalt fynde soche warnynge wrytten, ∧ shalt vnderst&abar;de, þt; thys cytye hath all waye bene rebelyous ∧ dysobedi&ebar;t, þt; it hath subdued kynges ∧ cytyes, ∧ that þe; Iewes whych dwell therin, haue euer bene a rebellyous, obstynate, vnfaythfull, and fyghtynge people, for the which cause this cytie is wasted. Wherfore now we certyfye oure Lorde the kynge, þt; yf thys cytye be buylded ∧ occupyed agayne, ∧ the walles therof set vp a new, þu; canst haue no passage into Celosyria ∧ Phenices.

D   Then wrote the kynge to Rathimus the story wryter, to Balthemus, to Sabellius the Scribe, ∧ to þe; other officiers ∧ dwellers in Syria and Phenices, after thys maner: I haue red the epistle whych þu; sentest vnto me, and haue commaunded to make dilig&ebar;t search, ∧ haue founde, þt; the cytye hath euer resysted kynges, þt; the same people are dysobedient, ∧ haue caused moch warre, ∧ that myghty kynges haue raygned in Ierusal&ebar;, which also haue raysed vp taxes of Syria and Phenices. Wherfore, I haue c&obar;maunded those people, þt; they shall not buylde the cytye, þt; they make no more in it, and þt; they proceade no forther &wt; the buyldynge: for so moch as it myght be the cause of warre, and displeasure vnto kynges.

Now when Rathymus and Sabellius the Scribe, ∧ the rulers in the l&abar;de had red þe; wrytynge of kyng Artaxerses, they gatt them together, ∧ came in all þe; haste to Ierusalem &wt; an hoost of horsm&ebar;, and &wt; moch people of fote, ∧ forbad th&ebar; to buylde. And so they left of from buyldynge of the t&ebar;ple, vnto the sec&obar;d yeare of kynge Darius.

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