Ezra 6
6
Darius Endorses Rebuilding
1King Darius then issued an order and a search was made 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:
3“In the first year of Cyrus the king, King Cyrus issued a decree concerning the House of God at Jerusalem. “Let the House be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be laid. Its height is to be sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits
4with three layers of large stones and one layer of timber. Let the expense be paid from the king’s house.
5Also let the gold and silver vessels of the House of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought to the Temple in Jerusalem; you shall deposit them in the House of God.
6“Now then, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues, officials of Trans-Euphrates, all of you stay away from there.
7Leave the work of this House of God alone! Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this House of God in its place.
8“Moreover, I hereby issue a decree as to what you are to do for these elders of the Jews to rebuild this House of God. The complete costs are to be paid to these men from the royal treasury, from the tribute from Trans-Euphrates so that they are not hindered.
9“Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams or lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven or wheat, salt, wine and oil, as requested by the kohanim in Jerusalem—must be given to them daily without neglect,
10so that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons.
11“Furthermore, I decree that if anyone changes this edict, a beam is to be pulled out from his house, and let him be lifted up and impaled on it, and because of this, his house be made a pile of refuse.
12May God, who makes His name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts his hand to cause such change to destroy this House of God in Jerusalem. I Darius have issued a decree; let it be carried out with diligence.”
Completion and Dedication of the Temple
13Then Tattenai the governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates diligently carried it out, just as King Darius had sent.
14So the elders of the Jews continued building and prospering through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and according to the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.
15The Temple was completed on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
16Then the sons of Israel—the kohanim, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles— celebrated the dedication of the House of God with joy.
17For the dedication of this House of God they offered 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 male lambs, and, as a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel.
18They appointed the kohanim in their divisions and the Levites in their divisions over the service of God at Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.
19The exiles celebrated the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month,
20for every one of the kohanim and the Levites had purified themselves and all of them were ceremonially pure. They slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, and for their fellow kohanim and for themselves.
21So those of Bnei-Yisrael who had returned from the exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the impurity of the nations of the land to seek Adonai the God of Israel.
22They celebrated the Feast of Matzot with joy for seven days, because Adonai had given them joy and had changed the heart of the king of Assyria toward them so as to strengthen their hands in the work on the House of God, the God of Israel.
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Ezra 6: TLV
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Ezra 6
6
The Order of Darius
1So King Darius gave an order to search the writings of the kings before him. The writings were kept in Babylon in the same place the money was kept. 2A scroll was found in the fortress of Ecbatana. (Ecbatana is in the province of Media.) This is what was written on that scroll:
Official Note: 3During the first year that Cyrus was king, he gave an order about the Temple of God in Jerusalem. The order said:
Let the Temple of God be rebuilt. It will be a place to offer sacrifices. Let its foundations be built. The Temple must be 60 cubits#6:3 60 cubits 102' 3/8" (31.1 m). high and 60 cubits wide. 4Its wall will be in layers that have three rows of large stones#6:4 large stones Or “marble stones.” and one row of wooden timbers. The cost of building the Temple must be paid for from the king’s treasury. 5Also, the gold and silver things from God’s Temple must be put back in their places. Nebuchadnezzar took them from the Temple in Jerusalem and brought them to Babylon. They must be put back in God’s Temple.
6So King Darius sent this message to his officials:
To Tattenai, governor of the area west of the Euphrates River, to Shethar Bozenai, and to all the officials living in that province. I order you to stay away from Jerusalem. 7Don’t bother the workers. Don’t try to stop the work on this Temple of God. Let the Jewish governor and the Jewish leaders rebuild it. Let them rebuild God’s Temple in the same place it was in the past.
8Now I give this order. You must do this for the Jewish leaders building God’s Temple: The cost of the building must be fully paid from the king’s treasury. The money will come from the taxes collected from the provinces in the area west of the Euphrates River. Do these things quickly, so the work will not stop. 9Give them anything they need. If they need young bulls, rams, or male lambs for sacrifices to the God of heaven, give these things to them. If the priests of Jerusalem ask for wheat, salt, wine, and oil, give these things to them every day without fail. 10Give them to the Jewish priests so that they may offer sacrifices that please the God of heaven. Give these things so that the priests may pray for me and my sons.
11Also, I give this order: If anyone changes this order, a wooden beam must be pulled from their house and pushed through their body. Then their house must be destroyed until it is only a pile of rocks.
12God put his name there in Jerusalem. May God defeat any king or other person who tries to change this order. If anyone tries to destroy this Temple in Jerusalem, may God destroy that person.
I, Darius, have ordered it. This order must be obeyed quickly and completely.
The Temple Completed and Dedicated
13So Tattenai the governor of the area west of the Euphrates River, Shethar Bozenai, and the men with them obeyed King Darius’ order. They obeyed the order quickly and completely. 14So the Jewish leaders continued to build. Encouraged by the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo, they had great success. They finished building the Temple as the God of Israel had commanded and as Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia, had ordered. 15The Temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar.#6:15 third … Adar That is, February–March. Some ancient writers have “23rd of Adar.” That was in the sixth year of the rule of King Darius.#6:15 the sixth year … Darius That is, 515 B.C.
16Then the Israelites celebrated the dedication of God’s Temple with much happiness. The priests, the Levites, and all the other people who came back from captivity joined in the celebration.
17This is the way they dedicated God’s Temple: They offered 100 bulls, 200 rams, and 400 male lambs. And they offered twelve male goats for all Israel for a sin offering. That is one goat for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 18Then they chose the priests in their groups and the Levites in their groups to serve in God’s Temple in Jerusalem. They did these things as it is written in the Book of Moses.
The Passover
19 # 6:19 Here, the original language changes from Aramaic back to Hebrew. On the fourteenth day of the first month,#6:19 first month That is, March–April, 515 B.C. the Jews who came back from captivity celebrated the Passover. 20The priests and Levites made themselves pure. They all made themselves clean and ready to celebrate the Passover. The Levites killed the Passover lamb for all the Jews who came back from captivity. They did that for their brothers the priests, and for themselves. 21So all the Israelites who came back from captivity ate the Passover meal. Other people washed themselves and made themselves pure from the unclean things of the people living in that country. These pure people also shared in the Passover meal. They did this so that they could go to the Lord, the God of Israel, for help. 22They celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread with much joy for seven days. The Lord made them very happy because he had changed the attitude of the king of Assyria.#6:22 king of Assyria This probably means King Darius of Persia. So the king of Assyria had helped them do the work on God’s Temple.
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