Ezra 6
1 Then, Darius the king, issued an edict, —and they made search in the house of the books, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon.
[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 And there was found in Achmetha, in the fortress which is in the province of Media, a roll, —and, thus, was it written therein, as a record: —
[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 In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king, issued an edict, as to the house of God in Jerusalem, Let the house be built, the place where they used to offer sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be reared, —the height thereof, sixty cubits, the breadth thereof, sixty cubits;
“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 layers of large stones, three, and one layer of new timber, —and, as for the expenses, out of the house of the king, let them be given.
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 Moreover also, the utensils of the house of God, of gold and silver, which, Nebuchadnezzar, took forth out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, let them again be taken to the temple which is in Jerusalem every one to its place, and lay them up in the house of God.
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 Now, therefore, Tattenai pasha Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates, the Apharsachites, who are Beyond the River, —be ye far from thence:
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 let alone the work of this house of God, —the pasha of Judah, and the elders of Judah, this house of God, shall build upon its place;
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 And, from me, is issued an edict, as to that which ye shall do, with these elders of Judah, for the building of this house of God, —That, of the resources of the king, even the tribute Beyond the River, forthwith, the expenses be given unto these men, for they must not be hindered.
“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 And, whatever may be the need—whether young bullocks or rams or lambs for ascending-sacrifices unto the God of the heavens, wheat, salt, wine or oil, according to the command of the priests who are in Jerusalem, —that it he given to them day by day, without fail;
“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 that they may be offering sweet-smelling sacrifices unto the God of the heavens, —and be praying for the life of the king, and his sons.
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 And, from me, is issued an edict, that, any man who shall alter this message, let timber be torn out of his house, and being lifted up let him be fastened thereunto, —and his house, a dunghill, be made for this;
“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 and, the God who hath caused his Name to dwell there, destroy any king or people, who shall put forth their hand to alter to destroy this house of God, which is in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued an edict, forthwith, let it be done.
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 Then, Tattenai the pasha Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates, —according as Darius the king had sent, so, forthwith, they did.
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 And, the elders of the Jews, went on building and prospering, through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah son of Iddo, —they both built and finished, owing to the edict of the God of Israel, and owing to the edict of Cyrus and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
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 And this house was finished, by the third day of the month Adar, —the which was the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
They finished building it on March 12, during the sixth year that King Darius [ruled].
16 Then did the sons of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the Sons of the Exile, keep the dedication of this house of God, with joy;
Then the priests and the Levites and all the other Israeli people who had returned from Babylon very joyfully dedicated the temple.
17 and offered, for the dedication of this house of God, bullocks, one hundred, rams, two hundred, lambs, four hundred, —and, he-goats, as a sin-offering for all Israel, twelve, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.
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 And they set up the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, over the service of God, which was in Jerusalem, —as it is written, in the Book of Moses.
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 And the Sons of the Exile kept the passover, —on the fourteenth of the first month;
On April 21, the Jews who had returned from Babylon celebrated the Passover Festival.
20 for the priests and the Levites, had purified themselves, as one man, all of them, were pure, —so they slaughtered the passover for all the Sons of the Exile, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.
[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 Therefore the sons of Israel who had returned from the Exile and all who had separated themselves from the impurity of the nations of the land unto them, did eat, —to seek Yahweh, God of Israel;
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 and kept the festival of unleavened cakes seven days, with joy, —for Yahweh had made them joyful, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria towards them, to strengthen their hands, in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
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].
