4 Although Jerusalem covered a large area, not many people lived there, and no new houses had been built.

5 [5-6] So God gave me the idea to bring together the people, their leaders, and officials and to check the family records of those who had returned from captivity in Babylonia, after having been taken there by King Nebuchadnezzar. [1] About this same time, I found records of those who had been the first to return to Jerusalem from Babylon Province. [2] By reading these records, I learned that they settled in their own hometowns,

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