CHAPTER 6
And a scroll
was found
in the fortress
of Ecbatana,
in the province
of Media,
with the following
written
on it:
Memorandum:
In 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,
with three
layers
of
cut stones
and one
of
timbers.
The costs
are to be paid
from
the royal
treasury.
Furthermore, 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.
Therefore Darius decreed:
To Tattenai
governor
of the region west
of the Euphrates,
Shethar-bozenai,
and your associates
and officials
in the region:
You must stay
away
from
that place!
Leave the work
on the
house
of God
alone.
Let the governor
and elders
of the Jews
rebuild
this
house
of God
on
its original site.
I 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.
Whatever
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
day
by day
without
fail.
Then
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.
I 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.
May 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.
In response,
Tattenai
the governor
of the region west
of the Euphrates,
Shethar-bozenai,
and their associates
diligently
carried out
what
King
Darius
had decreed.
So 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.
And this
temple
was completed
on
the third
day
of the month
of Adar,
in the sixth
year
of the reign
of King
Darius.
Then the people
of Israel—
the priests,
the Levites,
and the rest
of the exiles—
celebrated
the dedication
of the
house
of God
with joy.
For 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.
They 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.
All
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.
The Israelites
who had returned
from exile
ate it,
together with all
who had separated themselves
from the uncleanness
of the Gentiles
of the land,
in order to seek
the LORD,
the God
of Israel.
For seven
days
they observed
the Feast
of Unleavened Bread
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.