Ezra 6Previous Chapter | Next ChapterKing Darius Verifies the Decree1Then King Darius issued an order to search the Hall of Records where the Babylonian archives were stored.2The following was found written on a scroll in Ecbatana at the summerThe Aram. lacks summerpalace of the province of Media:3Date: First year of Cyrus the King From: King Cyrus Subject: The temple of God in Jerusalem Let the temple be rebuilt where they offered sacrifices. Let the foundations thereof be laid with a height of ninety feetLit. sixty cubits;Or about 27.43 metersand a width of ninety feet,Lit. sixty cubits;Or about 27.43 meters4constructedThe Aram. lacks constructedwith three layers of foundationLit. heavystone interlaced with a row of new timber, the expenses for which shall be paid from the king’s treasury.5Furthermore, let the gold and silver utensils from the temple of God (that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried off to Babylon) be brought back to the temple at Jerusalem and restored to their respective places in the temple of God. King Darius Confirms the Decree6To: Tattenai, Trans-Euphrates Governor, Shethar-boznai, and your colleagues living beyond the EuphratesThe Aram. lacks EuphratesRiver. Stay away from there!7Leave the work on this temple of God alone! Let the Jewish governor and the Jewish leaders build this temple of God on its site.8Furthermore, I hereby decree what you shall do for the Jewish leaders who are building this temple of God: you shall pay the expenses of these men out of the king’s assets from taxes collectedThe Aram. lacks collectedbeyond the River so that they are not hindered.9And be sure that you don’t fail to provide their daily needs—including young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of Heaven, along with wheat, salt, wine, and oil, as the priests in Jerusalem tell you—10so they may approach the God of Heaven with fragrant sacrifices and pray for the life of this king and his sons.11I hereby also decree that whoever shall alter the wording of this edict, let his residence be torn down for timber to build a gallows,The Aram. lacks a gallowshangOr impalehim on it, and turn his home into an outhouse.12And may the God who causes his Name to rest there destroy any king or people who might attemptLit. shall put their hand outto destroy this temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree. Let it be carried out quickly.13Because of what King Darius had mandated, Tattenai, the Trans-Euphrates Governor, Shethar-boznai, and their colleagues carried out his orders quickly. Progress and Completion14And so the Jewish leaders continued their building, and prospered because of the prophecies of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They completed the rebuilding in accordance with the commandment from the God of Israel and the edicts of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, king of Persia.15The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar during the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.16The Israelites—the priests, the Levites, and the other related descendants who had returned from captivity—celebrated with joy at the dedication of the temple of God.17At the dedication offering of the temple of God, they presented 100 bulls, 200 rams, and 400 lambs, along with a sin offering of 12 male goats for the entire nation of Israel according to the number of the tribes of Israel.18Furthermore, they established the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their positions for the service of God conducted at Jerusalem, as is proscribed in the Book of Moses. The First Post-Captivity Passover19At this point, the text of the MT reverts to Heb.The former exilesLit. The sons of the captivityobserved the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month20because the priests and Levites had purified themselves together—all of them were pure—and they killed the passover lambThe Heb. lacks lambfor every former exile,Lit. for all of the sons of the captivityfor their relatives the priests, and for themselves.21So the Israelites who had returned from captivity ate the Passover with all who had consecrated themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land in order to seek the LORD God of Israel.22Then they observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the LORD had made them glad, turning the heart of the king of Assyria toward them and strengthening them for their work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.
palace of the province of Media:3Date: First year of Cyrus the King From: King Cyrus Subject: The temple of God in Jerusalem Let the temple be rebuilt where they offered sacrifices. Let the foundations thereof be laid with a height of ninety feet
