New International Version
Ezra 6:3
3In 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. It is to be sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide,
Ezra 6:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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;
- English Standard Version (ESV)In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be sixty cubits and its breadth sixty cubits,
- New King James Version (NKJV)In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: “Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits,
- New Living Translation (NLT)“In the first year of King Cyrus’s reign, a decree was sent out concerning the Temple of God at Jerusalem. “Let the Temple be rebuilt on the site where Jews used to offer their sacrifices, using the original foundations. Its height will be ninety feet, and its width will be ninety feet.
Context of Ezra 6:3
1King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives stored in the treasury at Babylon. 2A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it: Memorandum: 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. It is to be sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide, 4with three courses of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury. 5Also, the gold 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.
Read all of Ezra 6Ezra 6:3 word by word
בִּשְׁנַ֨ת חֲדָ֜ה לְכ֣וֹרֶשׁ מַלְכָּ֗א כּ֣וֹרֶשׁ מַלְכָּא֮ שָׂ֣ם טְעֵם֒ בֵּית־אֱלָהָ֤א בִֽירוּשְׁלֶם֙ בַּיְתָ֣א יִתְבְּנֵ֔א אֲתַר֙ דִּֽי־דָבְחִ֣ין דִּבְחִ֔ין וְאֻשּׁ֖וֹהִי מְסֽוֹבְלִ֑ין רוּמֵהּ֙ אַמִּ֣ין שִׁתִּ֔ין פְּתָיֵ֖הּ אַמִּ֥ין שִׁתִּֽין׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- In the firstחַדchad · oneH2298
- yearשְׁנָהshenâh · yearH8140
- of Cyrusכּ֫וֹרֶשׁkôresh · CyrusH3567
- the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4430
- madeשׂוּםώûm · to set: makeH7761
- a decreeטְעֵםţe‛êm · commandH2942
- the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · houseH1005
- of Godאֱלָהּ'ĕlâhh · godH426
- at Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlêm · JerusalemH3390
- be buildedבְּנָהbenâ' benâh · to buildH1124
- the placeאֲתַר'ăthar · placeH870
- where they offeredדְּבַחdebach · to sacrificeH1684
- sacrificesדְּבַחdebach · sacrificeH1685
- and let the foundationsאֹשׁ'ôsh · foundationH787
- thereof be strongly laidסְבַלsebal · to bearH5446
- the heightרוּםrûm · heightH7314
- thereof threescoreשִׁתִּיןshittîyn · sixtyH8361
- cubitsאַמָּה'ammâh · cubitH521
- the breadthפְּתָיpethay · breadthH6613
Cross-references for Ezra 6:3
- Ezra 1:1In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:
- Ezra 5:13“However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.
- 2 Chronicles 36:22In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:
- Deuteronomy 12:5But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go;
- 2 Chronicles 2:6But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?
- Psalms 122:4That is where the tribes go up— the tribes of the Lord— to praise the name of the Lord according to the statute given to Israel.
- 1 Kings 6:2The temple that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high.
- 2 Chronicles 3:3The foundation Solomon laid for building the temple of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide (using the cubit of the old standard).
- Ezekiel 41:13Then he measured the temple; it was a hundred cubits long, and the temple courtyard and the building with its walls were also a hundred cubits long.
- Revelation 21:16The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long.
Commentaries on Ezra 6:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3The height thereof threescore cubits - This was much larger than the temple of Solomon. This was sixty cubits high, and sixty cubits broad; whereas Solomon's was only twenty cubits broad, and thirty cubits high.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3It is difficult to reconcile the dimentions here with expressions in Zechariah Zechariah 4:10, Haggai Haggai 2:3, and even Ezra Ezra 3:12, which imply that the second temple was smaller than the first (compare 1 Kings 6:2). Perhaps the dimensions here are those which Cyrus required the Jews not to exceed.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3This decree is recorded in Ezra 1:2–4. The temple will be ninety feet high and ninety feet wide. The changes suggested in the New Living Translation note would align these measurements with Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 6:2, 17, 20). However, the larger measurements here might show the maximum size the Persians would finance.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-121. Darius the king--This was Darius Hystaspes. Great and interesting light has been thrown on the history of this monarch and the transaction of his reign, by the decipherment of the cuneatic inscriptions on the rocks at Behistun. in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon--An idea of the form of this Babylonian register house, as well as the manner of preserving public records within its repositories, can be obtained from the…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezra 6:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezra 6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries