Ezra 3:3

²“Command the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘See that you present my offering, my food for my offerings made by fire, as a pleasant aroma to me, in their due season.’ ³You shall tell them, ‘This is the offering made by fire which you shall offer to the LORD: male lambs a year old without defect, two day by day, for a continual burnt offering. ⁴You shall offer the one lamb in the morning, and you shall offer the other lamb at evening, ⁵with one tenth of an ephah^[+] of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with the fourth part of a hin^[+] of beaten oil. ⁶It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained in Mount Sinai for a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. ⁷Its drink offering shall be the fourth part of a hin^[+] for each lamb. You shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to the LORD in the holy place. ⁸The other lamb you shall offer at evening. As the meal offering of the morning, and as its drink offering, you shall offer it, an offering made by fire, for a pleasant aroma to the LORD.

⁴Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building.

³⁸“Now this is that which you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old day by day continually. ³⁹The one lamb you shall offer in the morning; and the other lamb you shall offer at evening; ⁴⁰and with the one lamb a tenth part of an ephah^[+] of fine flour mixed with the fourth part of a hin^[+] of beaten oil, and the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink offering. ⁴¹The other lamb you shall offer at evening, and shall do to it according to the meal offering of the morning and according to its drink offering, for a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. ⁴²It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, where I will meet with you, to speak there to you.

¹¹This is the copy of the letter that they sent: To King Artaxerxes, from your servants, the people beyond the River.

¹²Be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us to Jerusalem. They are building the rebellious and bad city, and have finished the walls and repaired the foundations. ¹³Be it known now to the king that if this city is built and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and in the end it will be hurtful to the kings. ¹⁴Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not appropriate for us to see the king’s dishonor, therefore we have sent and informed the king, ¹⁵that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will see in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful to kings and provinces, and that they have started rebellions within it in the past. That is why this city was destroyed. ¹⁶We inform the king that if this city is built and the walls finished, then you will have no possession beyond the River.

²¹Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a straight way for us, for our little ones, and for all our possessions. ²²For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is on all those who seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath is against all those who forsake him.”

¹Then he made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits^[+] twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high.

¹The LORD is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? ²When evildoers came at me to eat up my flesh, even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell.

²My enemies want to swallow me up all day long, for they are many who fight proudly against me. ³When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. ⁴In God, I praise his word. In God, I put my trust. I will not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?