Ezra 6

Modern

Literal

The Decree of Darius

¹Thus King Darius ordered a search of the archives stored in the treasury of Babylon.

¹Then Darius the king made a decree, and they searched in the house of the books of the treasuries placed there in Babylon.

²And a scroll was found in the fortress of Ecbatana, in the province of Media, with the following written on it:

Memorandum:

²And was found at Achmetha, in a palace that is in the province of Media, one scroll, and thus was written in it: Memorandum:

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

Let the house be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices, and let its foundations be firmly laid. It is to be sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide,^a

³In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made a decree about the house of God in Jerusalem: Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let its foundations be firmly laid—its height sixty cubits, and its width sixty cubits,

⁴with three layers of cut stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid from the royal treasury.

⁴with three rows of rolled stones, and a row of new timber, and let the expenses be paid from the house of the king.

⁵Furthermore, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, must also be returned to the temple in Jerusalem and deposited in the house of God.

⁵And also let the vessels of the house of God, of gold and silver, that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple that is in Jerusalem, each to its place, and put them down in the house of God.

⁶Therefore Darius decreed:

To Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates,^a Shethar-bozenai, and your associates and officials in the region:

You must stay away from that place!

⁶Now: Tattenai the governor beyond the river, Shethar-bozenai, and your companions, the Apharsachites who are beyond the River: Be far away from there.

⁷Leave this work on the house of God alone. Let the governor and elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its original site.

⁷Leave alone the work of this house of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site.

⁸I hereby decree what you must do for these elders of the Jews who are rebuilding this house of God:

The cost is to be paid in full to these men from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces west of the Euphrates, so that the work will not be hindered.

⁸And a decree is made by me for what it is that you shall do for the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: Of the riches of the king that are of the tribute beyond the river, let the expense be paid diligently and given to these men, so that they are not hindered.

⁹Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, as well as wheat, salt, wine, and oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem—must be given to them daily without fail.

⁹And what they need, whether sons of bulls, or rams, or lambs for burnt offerings to the God of the heavens, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, according to the word of the priests who are in Jerusalem, let it be given to them day by day, that is without neglect,

¹⁰Then they will be able to offer sacrifices of a sweet aroma to the God of heaven and to pray for the lives of the king and his sons.

¹⁰that they may offer sacrifice of sweet aroma to the God of the heavens and pray for the life of the king and his sons.

¹¹I also decree that if any man interferes with this directive, a beam is to be torn from his house and raised up, and he is to be impaled on it. And his own house shall be made a pile of rubble for this offense.^a

¹¹And from me is set a decree that any man who changes this command, let a timber be pulled from his house and raised up, and let him be hanged on it, and let his house be made a dunghill because of this.

¹²May God, who has caused His Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to alter this decree or to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem.

I, Darius, have issued the decree. Let it be carried out with diligence.

¹²And may the God who caused His name to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this house of God that is in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have set a decree; let it diligently be done.

The Temple Completed

¹³In response, Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates diligently carried out what King Darius had decreed.

¹³Then Tattenai the governor beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, thus did diligently.

¹⁴So the Jewish elders built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo.

They finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.

¹⁴And the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. And they built and finished it by the decree of the God of Israel, and by the decree of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

¹⁵And this temple was completed on the third day of the month of Adar,^a in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

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

Dedication of the Temple

¹⁶Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy.

¹⁶And the sons of Israel made—and the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the sons of the captivity—the dedication of this house of God with joy.

¹⁷For the dedication of the house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and a sin offering for all Israel of twelve male goats, one for each tribe of Israel.

¹⁷And they offered sacrifices for the dedication of this house of God, a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering for all Israel, by the number of the tribes of Israel.

¹⁸They also appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their groups to the service of God in Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.

¹⁸And they assigned the priests in their divisions, and Levites in their groups, over the service of God that is in Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.

The Returned Exiles Keep the Passover

¹⁹On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles kept the Passover.

¹⁹And the sons of the captivity kept the Passover on the fourteenth of the first month.

²⁰All the priests and Levites had purified themselves and were ceremonially clean.

And the Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their priestly brothers, and for themselves.

²⁰For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves as one; all of them were pure. And they slaughtered the Passover for all the sons of the captivity, and for their brothers the priests, and for themselves.

²¹The Israelites who had returned from exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the peoples^a of the land to seek the LORD, the God of Israel.

²¹And the sons of Israel who had returned from the captivity, with all who had separated themselves from the filth of the peoples of the land to them, to seek YHWH, God of Israel, ate together,

²²For seven days they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread^a with joy, because the LORD had made them joyful and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to strengthen their hands in the work on the house of the God of Israel.

²²and they kept the Feast of the Unleavened seven days with joy, for YHWH had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.