Ezra 6
1 Te vaengah Darius manghai loh saithainah a paek tangloeng tih Babylon kah a khueh cabu im kah cabu te a thaih uh.
[Later] Darius [became the ruler of the Persian Empire. When the enemies of the Israelis forced them to stop rebuilding the temple, the Persian officials sent a message to King Darius. They asked him to] search the records in the (archives/government records), in the building where the king stored the important documents, [to find out whether King Cyrus had authorized that the temple should be rebuilt].
2 Tedae Media paeng kah manghai im, Akhametha ah cayol te a hmuh tih a khui ah cathut a daek.
[The king commanded someone to search there, but those documents were not there in Babylon]. They found a scroll at the fort in Ecbatana, in Media province, [that contained the information that they wanted to know]. This is what was written on that scroll:
3 Manghai Cyrus kah kum khat dongah tah manghai Cyrus amah loh Jerusalem kah Pathen im te saithainah a paek tih, “Im te hmueih aka nawn kah hmuen ah sa saeh. A khoengim te a sang dong sawmrhuk a ka dong sawmrhuk la saeng.
“During the first year that Cyrus [ruled the empire], he sent out a decree concerning the temple of God which is at Jerusalem. In the decree it was stated that a new temple must be built at the same place that [the Israeli people previously] had offered sacrifices, where the [original] foundation [of the first temple] was. The temple must be 90 feet high and 90 feet wide.
4 Lung nu than thum, thing than at saeh. Hnonah ham te manghai im lamloh pae saeh.
The building must be made from large stones. After putting down three layers of stones, a layer of timber must be put on top of them. This work will be paid for by money from my treasury.
5 Pathen im hnopai pataeng sui khaw cak khaw, Nebukhadnezzar loh Jerusalem bawkim lamkah a loh tih Babylon la a khuen te mael saeh lamtah Jerusalem kah bawkim te amah hmuen la paan saeh lamtah Pathen im ah khueh laeh?” a ti nah.
Also, the gold and silver utensils that King Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple of God in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon must be taken back to Jerusalem. They must be put in God’s temple just as they were in the previous temple.”
6 “Tattenai, sok paem boei Shetharboznai neh sok paem kah a boei hui rhoek te lamloh val om laeh saeh.
After reading this, King Darius sent this message [to the leaders of the Israeli people’s enemies in Jerusalem]: “This is a message for Tattenai, the governor of the province west of the [Euphrates] River, and for [his assistant] Shethar-Bozenai, and for all your colleagues: Stay away from that area!
7 Pathen im kah imsak nen he hlah uh laeh. Yahudi boei neh Yahudi a hamca rhoek loh Pathen im he amah hmuen la sa uh saeh.
Do not (interfere with/hinder) the work of building the temple of God! The temple must be rebuilt at the same place where the former temple was. And do not hinder the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews [while they are doing this work].
8 Yahudi a hamca rhoek taengah na saii uh ham te kai lamloh saithainah om coeng tih Pathen im he sa saeh. Te vaengah manghai koe lamloh sok paem mangmu lamkah tluem tluem hnonah saeh. Hlang rhoek taengah pae saeh lamtah paa boel saeh.
“Furthermore, I declare that you must help these leaders of the Jews as they rebuild this temple of God [by giving them funds for the building work].
9 A ngoe te tah vaan Pathen taengah hmueihhlutnah vaito ca neh tutal khaw tuca khaw, cangyen, lungkaehtael, misurtui neh situi khaw Jerusalem kah khosoih rhoek loh a hoe bangla a hnin, a hnin ah amih te dalrhanah om kolla pae.
“The Jewish priests in Jerusalem need young bulls and rams and lambs to sacrifice as they make burned offerings to the God of heaven. You must give them the animals that they need. Also, you must be certain to give them the wheat, salt, wine, and [olive] oil that they need each day [for those sacrifices].
10 Vaan pathen taengah hlihlim neh a nawn la om uh saeh lamtah manghai neh a ca rhoek kah hingnah ham thangthui saeh.
If you do that, the Jewish priests will be able to offer sacrifices that please the God who is in heaven, and they will pray that God will bless me and my sons.
11 Kai lamkah saithainah om tih he ol aka poe hlang boeih tah a im kah rhungsut te phong saeh lamtah a sut phoeiah anih te hoei saeh. Te dongah a im khaw kawnhnawt la om saeh.
“If anyone disobeys this decree, [my soldiers] will pull a beam from his house. Then [after they sharpen one end of the beam, ] they will lift that man up and impale him on that beam. Then they will [completely destroy that man’s house until only] a pile of rubble is left.
12 Pathen loh amah ming a khueh thil Jerusalem kah Pathen im he hoilae ham neh palet ham a kut a thueng boeih tah manghai neh pilnam khaw palet van saeh. Kai Darius kah saithainah ka khueh he tluem tluem saii saeh,” a ti.
God has chosen [that city of] Jerusalem as the place where people will honor him [MTY]. What I desire is that he will get rid of any king or any nation that tries to change this decree or tries to destroy that temple in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have made this decree. It must be obeyed quickly and thoroughly.”
13 Sok paem boei Tattenai, Shetharboznai neh a hui rhoek long khaw manghai Darius kah a pat bangla tluem tluem a saii uh.
Tattenai, the governor of the province, and [his assistant] Shethar-Bozenai and their colleagues [read the message and] immediately obeyed the decree of King Darius.
14 Yahudi a hamca rhoek khaw a sak uh vaengah tonghma Haggai neh Iddo capa Zekhariah kah olphong dongah thaihtak uh. Persia manghai Cyrus, Darius neh Artaxerxes lamkah saithainah dongkah Israel Pathen kah saithainah bangla a sak uh tih a coeng uh.
So the Jewish leaders continued their work [of rebuilding the temple]. They were greatly encouraged by the messages that the prophets Haggai and Zechariah preached. The Israelis continued building the temple, just like God had commanded them to do and like King Cyrus had decreed.
15 Te dongah manghai Darius ram kah a kum rhuk, Adar hla, hnin thum hlan ah im te a coeng.
They finished building it on March 12, during the sixth year that King Darius [ruled].
16 Te dongah Israel ca rhoek, khosoih rhoek neh Levi rhoek, hlangsol ca rhoek boeih loh Pathen im nawnnah he kohoenah neh a saii uh.
Then the priests and the Levites and all the other Israeli people who had returned from Babylon very joyfully dedicated the temple.
17 Te vaengah Pathen im nawnnah ham te vaito yakhat, tutal yakhat, tuca ya li, boirhaem dongkah ham boirhaem maae tal khaw a nawn uh. Israel pum hlai nit ham te Israel koca kah hlangmi tarhing la a nawn uh.
During [the ceremony to] dedicate the temple, they sacrificed 100 young bulls, 200 rams, and 400 lambs. They also sacrificed twelve male goats as an offering in order that [God would forgive] the sins of the people of the twelve tribes of Israel.
18 Moses cabu dongkah cadaek bangla Jerusalem kah Pathen imsak dongah khosoih rhoek khaw amah boelnah neh, Levi khaw amah tarhoi neh a pai sak uh.
Then the priests and Levites were divided into groups that would [take turns to] serve at the temple. They did this according to what Moses had written [many years previously] in the laws [that he wrote].
19 Tedae vangsawn koca rhoek loh hla khat hnin hlai li vaengah Yoom te a saii uh.
On April 21, the Jews who had returned from Babylon celebrated the Passover Festival.
20 Khosoih rhoek neh Levi rhoek loh pakhat la caihcil uh tih amih te boeih a cim phoeiah tah vangsawn ca boeih ham khaw, a manuca khosoih ham khaw amamih ham Yoom a ngawn uh.
[To qualify themselves for offering the sacrifices], the priests and Levites had already purified themselves by performing certain rituals. Then they slaughtered the lambs for the benefit of all the people who had returned from Babylon, for the other priests, and for themselves.
21 Te vaengah vangsawn lamkah aka mael Israel ca rhoek neh a kaepvai khohmuen kah namtom tihnai khui lamloh Israel Pathen BOEIPA te toem ham aka hoep uh boeih loh a caak uh.
Those who had returned from Babylon and the other people in that land who had turned away from their immoral practices in order to worship Yahweh, the God of the Israeli people, ate the Passover meal.
22 Vaidamding khotue khaw hnin rhih khuiah kohoenah neh a saii uh. Israel Pathen kah Pathen im bitat dongah amih kut te moem pah ham Assyria manghai loh amih taengah lungbuei a tho dongah BOEIPA loh amih te ko a hoe sak.
They celebrated the Unleavened Bread Festival of [Eating] Unleavened Bread for seven days. The Israeli people throughout the land were joyful because Yahweh had changed the attitude of the king of Assyria toward them, and as a result, the king had helped them to rebuild the temple of God, the one whom they [worshiped].
