< Ezra 6 >

1 Saa gav Kong Darius Befaling til at se efter i Skatkammeret, hvor man i Babel gemte Dokumenterne;
[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 og man fandt da i Borgen i Ameta i Landsdelen Medien en Skriftrulle, hvori der stod: »Til Ihukommelse.
[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 I sit første Regeringsaar udstedte Kong Kyros følgende Befaling: Gudshuset i Jerusalem skal genopbygges, for at man der kan ofre Slagtofre og frembære Guds Ildofre; det skal være tresindstyve Alen højt og tresindstyve Alen bredt
“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 med tre Lag Kvadersten og eet Lag Bjælker; Omkostningerne udredes af Kongens Hus.
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 Desuden skal Gudshusets Guld— og Sølvkar, som Nebukadnezar borttog fra Helligdommen i Jerusalem og førte til Babel, gives tilbage, og de skal bringes tilbage til deres Plads i Helligdommen i Jerusalem, og du skal sætte dem ind i Gudshuset!«
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 »Derfor skal I, Tattenaj, Statholder hinsides Floden, og Sjetar-Bozenaj med eders Embedsbrødre, Afarsekiterne hinsides Floden, ikke blande eder deri.
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 Lad Arbejdet med dette Gudshus gaa sin Gang, lad Jødernes Statholder og Jødernes Ældste bygge dette Gudshus paa den gamle Plads.
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 Og hermed giver jeg Paabud om, hvorledes I skal stille eder over for disse Jødernes Ældste med Hensyn til Opførelsen af dette Gudshus: Af Kongens Skatteindtægter fra Landene hinsides Floden skal Omkostningerne nøjagtigt udredes til disse Mænd, og det ufortøvet;
“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 og hvad der ellers er Brug for: Tyre, Vædre og Lam til Brændofre for Himmelens Gud, Hvede, Salt, Vin og Olie, det skal efter Opgivende af Præsterne i Jerusalem udleveres dem Dag for Dag uden Afkortning,
“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 for at de kan bringe Ofre til en liflig Duft for Himmelens Gud og bede for Kongens og hans Sønners Liv.
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 Og hermed paabyder jeg, at om nogen overtræder denne For ordning, skal en Bjælke rives ud af hans Hus, og til Straf skal han hænges op og nagles fast paa den, og hans Hus skal gøres til en Grusdynge.
“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 Og den Gud, der har ladet sit Navn bo der, han slaa enhver Konge og ethvert Folk til Jorden, som rækker Haanden ud for at over træde denne Forordning og øde lægge dette Gudshus i Jerusalem. Jeg, Darius, giver dette Paabud; lad det blive nøje udført!«
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 Da handlede Tattenaj, Statholderen hinsides Floden, Sjetar-Bozenaj og deres Embedsbrødre nøje efter det Paabud, Kong Darius havde sendt dem.
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 Og Jødernes Ældste byggede, og det lykkedes dem i Henhold til Profeterne Haggajs og Zakarias's, Iddos Søns, Profeti; de byggede og fuldførte Værket efter Israels Guds Bud og efter Kyros's og Darius's og Perserkongen Artaxerxes's Befaling.
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 De fuldendte Templet paa den tredje Dag i Adar Maaned i Kong Darius's sjette Regeringsaar.
They finished building it on March 12, during the sixth year that King Darius [ruled].
16 Saa fejrede Israeliterne, Præsterne, Leviterne og de andre, der havde været i Landflygtighed, Gudshusets Indvielse med Glæde;
Then the priests and the Levites and all the other Israeli people who had returned from Babylon very joyfully dedicated the temple.
17 og de ofrede ved Indvielsen 100 Tyre, 200 Vædre og 400 Lam og til Syndofre for hele Israel 12 Gedebukke efter Tallet paa Israels Stammer;
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 og de indsatte Præsterne efter deres Afdelinger og Leviterne efter deres Skifter til Gudstjenesten i Jerusalem som foreskrevet i Moses's Bog.
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 Derpaa fejrede de, der havde været i Landflygtighed, Paasken den fjortende Dag i den første Maaned.
On April 21, the Jews who had returned from Babylon celebrated the Passover Festival.
20 Thi Præsterne og Leviterne havde renset sig og var rene alle som een; og de slagtede Paaskelam for alle dem, der havde været i Landflygtighed, for deres Brødre Præsterne og for sig selv.
[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 Og Israeliterne, der var vendt tilbage fra Landflygtigheden, spiste deraf sammen med alle dem, der havde udskilt sig fra Hedningerne i Landet og deres Urenhed og sluttet sig til dem for at søge HERREN, Israels Gud.
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 Og de fejrede de usyrede Brøds Højtid i syv Dage med Glæde, fordi HERREN havde glædet dem og vendt Assyrerkongens Hjerte til dem, saa at han styrkede deres Hænder i Arbejdet paa Guds, Israels Guds, Hus.
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].

< Ezra 6 >