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Ezra 6

King Darius replies

6 King Darius told his officers to look in the books in the royal library. That was in Babylon, in the place where they stored important things. 2 But it was in the region of Media that they found a scroll about the temple in Jerusalem. It was stored in a strong building in Ecbatana. This is what the scroll said:

‘This is an important note.

3 King Cyrus gave a command about God's temple in Jerusalem, in the first year that he ruled in Babylon. He said:

“The Jews must build their temple as a place where they can offer sacrifices to their God. They must build it on its foundations. They must make it 30 metres wide and 30 metres high. 4 They must build the walls with three rows of big stones, and then a row of wooden beams. They should take money from the king's palace to pay for the work. 5 We will give back to them the silver and gold things that belong in their God's temple. King Nebuchadnezzar took them from the temple in Jerusalem and he brought them here to Babylon. Now they must return to the place where they belong, in God's house in Jerusalem.”

6 So listen to me, Tattenai, my ruler of the region on the west side of the Euphrates river. You, Shethar-Bozenai and your other officers in that region must all stay away from the temple! 7 You must not do anything to stop the work on God's temple. The Jewish ruler and their leaders must continue to build this house of God. They must build it in its proper place.

8 So I will now tell you what you must do for the Jewish leaders. You must help them to build this temple again. Use the king's money to pay for everything that they need to continue the work. Use the taxes that we receive from people in the region west of the Euphrates river. The work on the building must not stop. 9 Also give to the priests the things that they need each day for their sacrifices to the God of heaven. Give them young bulls, male sheep and lambs to use as burnt offerings. Give them grain, salt, wine and olive oil. Whenever the priests in Jerusalem ask for something, you must be sure to give it to them. 10 Then their offerings will make the God of heaven happy. They will pray for God to bless the king and his family.

11 Nobody may change what I have commanded in this letter. If anyone does not obey this command, men must remove a beam from the roof of his house. They must push the point of the beam through his body and lift him up on it. Then they must destroy his house so that it becomes a heap of stones. That is what he deserves.

12 No king or nation should try to change my command. They must never destroy God's temple in Jerusalem. That is the place that he has chosen for people to worship him. I pray that he will remove anyone who tries to attack that place.

I, Darius, have made this command. Everyone must obey it completely.’

They finish the temple

13 Tattenai, ruler of the region west of the Euphrates river, Shethar-Bozenai and their friends carefully obeyed King Darius's command. 14 So the leaders of the Jews continued to build the temple. The work went very well. They listened to the messages from God that the prophet Haggai and Iddo's grandson, Zechariah, were teaching them. They finished building the temple. Israel's God had commanded them to do that. Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia, had also commanded them to do it. 15 They finished building the temple on the third day of Adar month. King Darius had then been king for six years.

16 Then the Israelite people offered the temple to God, so that he would bless it. The priests, the Levites and the other people who had returned from Babylon were all very happy. 17 They offered 100 bulls, 200 male sheep and 400 lambs. Then they sacrificed 12 male goats as a sin offering for all Israel. There was one goat for each of the 12 tribes of Israel. 18 They decided how each group of priests and Levites should work in God's temple in Jerusalem. Moses had written in his book how they should do this.

The Passover feast

19 On the 14th day of the first month, the people ate the Passover feast. [ a ] 20 The priests and Levites had all made themselves clean for their special work. The Levites killed the lambs for the Passover sacrifice. They did that on behalf of all the people, the priests and themselves. 21 So all the people who had returned from Babylon ate the feast. Other Israelites in Jerusalem had turned away from the bad things that other nations who lived there did. They had decided to worship the Lord , Israel's God. So they also ate the feast. 22 Then they ate the Feast of Flat Bread for seven days. [ b ] The Lord had caused them to be very happy, because the king of Assyria had helped them. The Lord had made the king think in a different way about the Jews in Jerusalem. He had decided to help them to build the God of Israel's temple.

Footnotes

  1. 6:19 The Passover feast was to help the Israelites. They needed to remember how God had saved them from being slaves in Egypt. God had sent an angel to kill all the oldest sons of the people in Egypt. But he told the Israelites to put the blood of a lamb round their doors. They had to stay inside their houses. Then the angel passed over their houses and he did not kill their sons. Then the Egyptians sent the Israelites out of Egypt. See Numbers 28:16-25 ; Exodus 12:14-20 .
  2. 6:22 The Feast of Flat Bread began the day after the Passover Feast. Flat bread is bread that has no yeast in it.

The Order of Darius

6 So King Darius gave an order to search the writings of the kings before him. The writings were kept in Babylon in the same place the money was kept. 2 A scroll was found in the fortress of Ecbatana. (Ecbatana is in the province of Media.) This is what was written on that scroll:

Official Note: 3 During the first year that Cyrus was king, he gave an order about the Temple of God in Jerusalem. The order said:

Let the Temple of God be rebuilt. It will be a place to offer sacrifices. Let its foundations be built. The Temple must be 60 cubits [ a ] high and 60 cubits wide. 4 Its wall will be in layers that have three rows of large stones [ b ] and one row of wooden timbers. The cost of building the Temple must be paid for from the king’s treasury. 5 Also, the gold and silver things from God’s Temple must be put back in their places. Nebuchadnezzar took them from the Temple in Jerusalem and brought them to Babylon. They must be put back in God’s Temple.

6 So King Darius sent this message to his officials:

To Tattenai, governor of the area west of the Euphrates River, to Shethar Bozenai, and to all the officials living in that province. I order you to stay away from Jerusalem. 7 Don’t bother the workers. Don’t try to stop the work on this Temple of God. Let the Jewish governor and the Jewish leaders rebuild it. Let them rebuild God’s Temple in the same place it was in the past.

8 Now I give this order. You must do this for the Jewish leaders building God’s Temple: The cost of the building must be fully paid from the king’s treasury. The money will come from the taxes collected from the provinces in the area west of the Euphrates River. Do these things quickly, so the work will not stop. 9 Give them anything they need. If they need young bulls, rams, or male lambs for sacrifices to the God of heaven, give these things to them. If the priests of Jerusalem ask for wheat, salt, wine, and oil, give these things to them every day without fail. 10 Give them to the Jewish priests so that they may offer sacrifices that please the God of heaven. Give these things so that the priests may pray for me and my sons.

11 Also, I give this order: If anyone changes this order, a wooden beam must be pulled from their house and pushed through their body. Then their house must be destroyed until it is only a pile of rocks.

12 God put his name there in Jerusalem. May God defeat any king or other person who tries to change this order. If anyone tries to destroy this Temple in Jerusalem, may God destroy that person.

I, Darius, have ordered it. This order must be obeyed quickly and completely.

The Temple Completed and Dedicated

13 So Tattenai the governor of the area west of the Euphrates River, Shethar Bozenai, and the men with them obeyed King Darius’ order. They obeyed the order quickly and completely. 14 So the Jewish leaders continued to build. Encouraged by the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo, they had great success. They finished building the Temple as the God of Israel had commanded and as Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia, had ordered. 15 The Temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar. [ c ] That was in the sixth year of the rule of King Darius. [ d ]

16 Then the Israelites celebrated the dedication of God’s Temple with much happiness. The priests, the Levites, and all the other people who came back from captivity joined in the celebration.

17 This is the way they dedicated God’s Temple: They offered 100 bulls, 200 rams, and 400 male lambs. And they offered twelve male goats for all Israel for a sin offering. That is one goat for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 18 Then they chose the priests in their groups and the Levites in their groups to serve in God’s Temple in Jerusalem. They did these things as it is written in the Book of Moses .

The Passover

19 [ e ] On the fourteenth day of the first month, [ f ] the Jews who came back from captivity celebrated the Passover. 20 The priests and Levites made themselves pure. They all made themselves clean and ready to celebrate the Passover. The Levites killed the Passover lamb for all the Jews who came back from captivity. They did that for their brothers the priests, and for themselves. 21 So all the Israelites who came back from captivity ate the Passover meal. Other people washed themselves and made themselves pure from the unclean things of the people living in that country. These pure people also shared in the Passover meal. They did this so that they could go to the Lord , the God of Israel, for help. 22 They celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread with much joy for seven days. The Lord made them very happy because he had changed the attitude of the king of Assyria. [ g ] So the king of Assyria had helped them do the work on God’s Temple.

Footnotes

  1. Ezra 6:3 60 cubits 102' 3/8" (31.1 m).
  2. Ezra 6:4 large stones Or “marble stones.”
  3. Ezra 6:15 third … Adar That is, February–March. Some ancient writers have “23rd of Adar.”
  4. Ezra 6:15 the sixth year … Darius That is, 515 B.C.
  5. Ezra 6:19 Here, the original language changes from Aramaic back to Hebrew.
  6. Ezra 6:19 first month That is, March–April, 515 B.C.
  7. Ezra 6:22 king of Assyria This probably means King Darius of Persia.

6 Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon.

2 And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written:

3 In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits;

4 With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house:

5 And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to his place, and place them in the house of God.

6 Now therefore, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shetharboznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence:

7 Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place.

8 Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered.

9 And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail:

10 That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.

11 Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this.

12 And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed.

13 Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shetharboznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily.

14 And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

15 And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

16 And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.

17 And offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, 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, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses.

19 And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.

20 For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.

21 And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel, did eat,

22 And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the Lord had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Darius Finds Cyrus’ Decree

6 Then King Darius issued a decree, and a ( A ) search was conducted in the [ a ] archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. 2 And in [ b ] Ecbatana, in the fortress which is ( B ) in the province of Media, a scroll was found; and the following was written in it: “Memorandum— 3 ( C ) In the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king issued a decree: ‘ Concerning the house of God in Jerusalem, let the [ c ] temple, the place where sacrifices are offered, be rebuilt, and let [ d ] its foundations be repaired, its height being [ e ] sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, 4 ( D ) with three layers of large stones and [ f ] one layer of timber. And the cost is to be paid from the [ g ] royal treasury. 5 Also ( E ) the gold and silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned and [ h ] brought to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God.’

6 “Now as for you , ( F ) Tattenai, governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and [ i ] your colleagues, the officials of the provinces beyond the River, [ j ] stay away from there. 7 Leave that work on the house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild that house of God on its site. 8 Furthermore, ( G ) I issue a decree concerning what you are to do for these elders of Judah in the rebuilding of that house of God: the full cost is to be paid to those people from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces beyond the Euphrates River, and that without interruption. 9 And whatever is needed, bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine, and anointing oil, as the priests in Jerusalem order, it is to be given to them daily without fail, 10 so that they may offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and ( H ) pray for the lives of the king and his sons. 11 And I issued a decree that ( I ) any person who violates this decree, a timber shall be pulled out of his house and he shall be impaled on it; and ( J ) his house shall be turned into a refuse heap on account of this. 12 May the God who ( K ) has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who [ k ] attempts to [ l ] change it , so as to destroy that house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree; it is to be carried out with all diligence!”

The Temple Completed and Dedicated

13 Then ( L ) Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues carried out the decree with all diligence, just as King Darius had [ m ] ordered. 14 And ( M ) the elders of the Jews [ n ] were successful in building through the prophecy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And [ o ] they finished building following the command of the God of Israel and the decree ( N ) of Cyrus, ( O ) Darius, and ( P ) Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15 Now this [ p ] temple was completed [ q ] on the third day of the ( Q ) month Adar; it was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

16 And the sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the [ r ] exiles, ( R ) celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. 17 They offered for the dedication of this temple of God a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel ( S ) twelve male goats, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel. 18 Then they appointed the priests to ( T ) their divisions and the Levites in ( U ) their sections for the service of God in Jerusalem, ( V ) as it is written in the Book of Moses.

The Passover Held

19 ( W ) The exiles held the Passover on ( X ) the fourteenth of the first month. 20 ( Y ) For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were pure. Then ( Z ) they slaughtered the Passover lambs for all the exiles, both for their brothers the priests and for themselves. 21 And the sons of Israel who returned from exile and ( AA ) all those who had separated themselves from ( AB ) the impurity of the nations of the land to join them, to seek the Lord God of Israel, ate the Passover . 22 And ( AC ) they held the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the Lord had made them happy, and ( AD ) had turned the heart of ( AE ) the king of Assyria toward them to [ s ] encourage them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Footnotes

  1. Ezra 6:1 Lit house of the books
  2. Ezra 6:2 Aram Achmetha
  3. Ezra 6:3 Lit house
  4. Ezra 6:3 Or perhaps offerings by fire be offered
  5. Ezra 6:3 About 90 ft. or 27 m
  6. Ezra 6:4 As in LXX; Aram a layer of new timber
  7. Ezra 6:4 Lit king’s house
  8. Ezra 6:5 Lit go
  9. Ezra 6:6 Aram their
  10. Ezra 6:6 Lit be distant
  11. Ezra 6:12 Lit sends his hand
  12. Ezra 6:12 Or violate
  13. Ezra 6:13 Lit sent
  14. Ezra 6:14 Lit were building and succeeding
  15. Ezra 6:14 Lit built and finished
  16. Ezra 6:15 Lit house
  17. Ezra 6:15 Lit until
  18. Ezra 6:16 Lit sons of the exile
  19. Ezra 6:22 Lit strengthen their hands

The Decree of Darius

6 King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives ( A ) stored in the treasury at Babylon. 2 A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it:

Memorandum:

3 In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem:

Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid. ( B ) It is to be sixty cubits [ a ] high and sixty cubits wide, 4 with three courses ( C ) of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury. ( D ) 5 Also, the gold ( E ) and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; they are to be deposited in the house of God. ( F )

6 Now then, Tattenai, ( G ) governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai ( H ) and you other officials of that province, stay away from there. 7 Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site.

8 Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God:

Their expenses are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, ( I ) from the revenues ( J ) of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop. 9 Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt offerings ( K ) to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and olive oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem—must be given them daily without fail, 10 so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons. ( L )

11 Furthermore, I decree that if anyone defies this edict, a beam is to be pulled from their house and they are to be impaled ( M ) on it. And for this crime their house is to be made a pile of rubble. ( N ) 12 May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, ( O ) overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem.

I Darius ( P ) have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence.

Completion and Dedication of the Temple

13 Then, because of the decree King Darius had sent, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates ( Q ) carried it out with diligence. 14 So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching ( R ) of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, ( S ) Darius ( T ) and Artaxerxes, ( U ) kings of Persia. 15 The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. ( V )

16 Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication ( W ) of the house of God with joy. 17 For the dedication of this house of God they offered ( X ) a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred male lambs and, as a sin offering [ b ] for all Israel, twelve male goats, one for each of the tribes of Israel. 18 And they installed the priests in their divisions ( Y ) and the Levites in their groups ( Z ) for the service of God at Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses. ( AA )

The Passover

19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover. ( AB ) 20 The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered ( AC ) the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their relatives the priests and for themselves. 21 So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves ( AD ) from the unclean practices ( AE ) of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the Lord , ( AF ) the God of Israel. 22 For seven days they celebrated with joy the Festival of Unleavened Bread, ( AG ) because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude ( AH ) of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.

Footnotes

  1. Ezra 6:3 That is, about 90 feet or about 27 meters
  2. Ezra 6:17 Or purification offering
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