Esdras 6
1 Se konsa wa Dariyis bay lòd pou yo fè chache nan tout depo kote yo te sere achiv yo ak trezò yo nan peyi Babilòn.
[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 Epi yo jwenn yon woulo papye nan fò Achmeta, yon fòtrès ki te nan pwovens Medi a. Men sa ki te ekri nan woulo papye a:
[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 -Nan premye lanne rèy li, wa Siris te bay lòd sa a sou tanp Bondye a nan lavil Jerizalèm: Se pou yo rebati tanp lan pou l' ka sèvi kote yo ka touye bèt ak boule ofrann nan dife pou Bondye. Tanp lan va gen trant mèt wotè, trant mèt lajè.
“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 Y'a moute miray yo an bwa ak wòch, yonn sou lòt, twa ranje wòch pou chak ranje bwa. Y'a pran lajan nan kès wa a pou peye tout depans ki va fèt pou travay la.
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 Konsa tou, y'a renmèt yo tout veso an lò ak an ajan Nèbikadneza te pran nan tanp Bondye a lavil Jerizalèm pou l' te pote isit lavil Babilòn, pou tout bagay tounen nan plas yo nan tanp Bondye a lavil Jerizalèm.
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 Lè sa a, wa Dariyis voye repons sa a: -Pou Tatenayi, gouvènè pwovens lòt bò larivyè Lefrat la, Cheta-Boznayi ak lòt kòlèg yo ki otorite nan Afasak la. Pa pwoche bò tanp lan.
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 Kite yo travay nan tanp Bondye a. Se pou gouvènè pèyi Jida a ak chèf fanmi yo rebati tanp lan sou menm anplasman kote l' te ye anvan an.
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 Okontrè, men ki jan pou nou boule ak chèf fanmi pèp jwif yo nan travay y'ap fè pou rebati tanp Bondye sa a: N'a pran lajan nan kès wa ki nan men nou an, ki vle di nan lajan kontribisyon n'a ranmase nan pwovens la, n'a renmèt yo kòb tout depans y'a fè, san wete senk, pou travay la pa rete.
“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 N'a bay prèt Jerizalèm yo tou sa y'a bezwen pou fè ofrann bèt pou yo boule nèt nan dife pou Bondye ki nan syèl la. Chak jou, dapre sa prèt lavil Jerizalèm yo va di nou, n'a ba yo jenn ti towo, belye, ti mouton ansanm ak ble, sèl, diven, lwil y'a bezwen pou boule pou Seyè a. Pa pote okenn neglijans nan sa.
“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 Konsa, y'a ka ofri sakrifis santi bon ki va fè Seyè a plezi. Y'a lapriyè pou wa a ak pou pitit li yo.
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 Men yon lòd mwen bay ankò: si yon moun refize fè anyen nan sa m' mande la a, y'a rache yon poto bwa nan kay li, y'a fè yon pwent li, y'a pèse moun lan pak an pak ak li. Pou kay li a menm, y'a fè l' tounen yon pil fatra, poutèt sa li fè a.
“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 Se pou Bondye ki chwazi lavil Jerizalèm pou se la yo bati kay li a jete tout wa, kraze tout nasyon ki ta konprann pou yo pa koute lòd mwen bay la a, epi ki ta detwi tanp Bondye a ki lavil Jerizalèm. Se mwen menm, Dariyis, ki bay lòd sa a. Se pou yo fè sa mwen bay lòd fè a san wete san mete.
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 Tatenayi, gouvènè pwovens ki lòt bò larivyè Efrat la, Cheta-Boznayi ak lòt chèf yo fè sa wa Dariyis te bay lòd fè a san wete san mete.
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 Chèf fanmi jwif yo menm rebati tanp lan san pwoblèm, avèk ankourajman Aje, pwofèt Bondye a, ak Zakari, pitit gason Ido a, t'ap ba yo ak mesaj Bondye yo. Se konsa yo fin rebati tanp lan jan Bondye pèp Izrayèl la te ba yo lòd la, ak jan Dariyis, Siris ak Atagzèsès, tou twa wa peyi Pès la, te ba yo lòd la tou.
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 Travay la fini sou twazyèm jou nan mwa Ada a, nan sizyèm lanne rèy wa Dariyis.
They finished building it on March 12, during the sixth year that King Darius [ruled].
16 Lè sa a, tout pèp Izrayèl la, prèt yo, moun Levi yo ak tout rès moun ki te tounen yo fè fèt, yo fè gwo seremoni pou mete tanp lan apa pou sèvis Bondye.
Then the priests and the Levites and all the other Israeli people who had returned from Babylon very joyfully dedicated the temple.
17 Yo ofri san (100) towo, desan (200) belye mouton, katsan (400) ti mouton pou yo touye pou mete tanp lan apa pou sèvis Bondye. Yo ofri tou douz bouk kabrit, yonn pou chak branch fanmi pèp Izrayèl la, pou mande Bondye padon pou peche pèp la.
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 Apre sa, yo òganize sèvis tanp Bondye a lavil Jerizalèm. Yo separe prèt yo an divès kategori, yo separe moun Levi yo an divès klas, chak gwoup ak travay pa yo pou yo fè, jan sa ekri nan liv Moyiz la.
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 Katòzyèm jou mwa Nisan an, nan lanne senksankenz (515), jwif ki te tounen soti nan peyi kote yo te depòte yo a fete fèt Delivrans lan.
On April 21, the Jews who had returned from Babylon celebrated the Passover Festival.
20 Yo te fè yon sèl sèvis pou tout prèt yo ansanm ak tout moun Levi yo pou mete yo nan kondisyon pou fè sèvis Bondye. Yo tout te nan kondisyon pou fè sèvis Bondye: yo touye bèt yo te ofri pou fèt Delivrans lan, yo fè yon sèl seremoni pou tout pèp la, pou prèt parèy yo ak pou yo menm tou.
[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 Men moun ki te manje manje Delivrans lan. Se te tout jwif ki te tounen soti nan peyi kote yo te depòte yo a ansanm ak rès moun pèp Izrayèl yo ki pa t' janm kite peyi yo men ki te vire do bay vye bagay lòt moun yo t'ap fè nan peyi yo epi ki te vin mete tèt ansanm ak moun ki te tounen yo pou adore Seyè a, Bondye pèp Izrayèl la.
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 Pandan sèt jou, yo fete Fèt Pen san ledven an ak kè kontan. Yo te kontan anpil dèske Seyè a te manyen kè wa peyi Lasiri a, ki te ankouraje yo anpil nan tout gwo travay yo t'ap fè a pou rebati tanp Bondye pèp Izrayèl la.
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].
