Ezra 6

Darius Finds Cyrus’ Decree

1Then King Darius issued a decree, and a 1search was conducted in the 2archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. 2And in 3Ecbatana, in the fortress which is 4in the province of Media, a scroll was found; and the following was written in it: “Memorandum-- 35In the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king issued a decree: ‘Concerning the house of God in Jerusalem, let the 6temple, the place where sacrifices are offered, be rebuilt, and let 7its foundations be repaired, its height being 8sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, 49with three layers of large stones and 10one layer of timber. And the cost is to be paid from the 11royal treasury. 5Also 12the 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 13brought to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God.’

6“Now as for you, 14Tattenai, governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and 15your colleagues, the officials of the provinces beyond the River, 16stay away from there. 7Leave 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. 8Furthermore, 17I 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. 9And 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, 10so that they may offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and 18pray for the lives of the king and his sons. 11And I issued a decree that 19any person who violates this decree, a timber shall be pulled out of his house and he shall be impaled on it; and 20his house shall be turned into a refuse heap on account of this. 12May the God who 21has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who 22attempts to 23change 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

13Then 24Tattenai, 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 25ordered. 14And 26the elders of the Jews 27were successful in building through the prophecy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And 28they finished building following the command of the God of Israel and the decree 29of Cyrus, 30Darius, and 31Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15Now this 32temple was completed 33on the third day of the 34month Adar; it was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

16And the sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the 35exiles, 36celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. 17They 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 37twelve male goats, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel. 18Then they appointed the priests to 38their divisions and the Levites in 39their sections for the service of God in Jerusalem, 40as it is written in the Book of Moses.

The Passover Held

1941The exiles held the Passover on 42the fourteenth of the first month. 2043For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were pure. Then 44they slaughtered the Passover lambs for all the exiles, both for their brothers the priests and for themselves. 21And the sons of Israel who returned from exile and 45all those who had separated themselves from 46the impurity of the nations of the land to join them, to seek the Lord God of Israel, ate the Passover. 22And 47they held the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the Lord had made them happy, and 48had turned the heart of 49the king of Assyria toward them to 50encourage them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.