Esdras 6
1 Wa Darius te pibliye yon dekrè e yon rechèch te fèt nan achiv yo kote trezò yo te depoze Babylone nan.
[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 Nan Achemetha, nan fò a, ki nan pwovens a Médie a, yo te twouve yon woulo, e ladann te ekri konsa kon yon rekòd anrejistre:
[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 ane a Wa Cyrus la, Cyrus, wa a, te pibliye yon dekrè: Sou kay Bondye nan Jérusalem nan, kite tanp kote sakrifis konn vin ofri yo vin rebati, e kite fondasyon li yo konsève, wotè ki swasant koude a e lajè ki swasant koude a
“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 avèk twa ranje gwo wòch taye ak yon ranje an bwa. Epi kite frè a peye soti nan trezò wa a.
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 Anplis, kite zouti an lò avèk ajan ki pou lakay Bondye yo, ke Nebucadnetsar te pran soti nan tanp Jérusalem nan pou te pote Babylone nan, remèt e fè retounen nan plas yo nan tanp Jérusalem nan. Konsa, nou va depoze yo nan kay Bondye a.
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 Alò, pou sa, Thathnaï, ou menm, gouvènè pwovens lòtbò rivyè a, Schethar-Boznaï avèk kòlèg parèy ou yo, ofisyèl nan pwovens lòtbò rivyè yo, rete lwen de la.
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 travay sila sou kay Bondye a kontinye; kite gouvènè a Jwif yo avèk ansyen a Jwif yo rebati lakay Bondye a sou sit anplasman li 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 Anplis, Mwen menm, Darius, ap bay yon dekrè sou sa nou gen pou fè pou ansyen sila yo nan Juda pou rekonstriksyon lakay Bondye sila a: Tout frè li se pou peye a pèp sila yo soti nan kès trezò ki sòti nan taks ki sòti nan pwovens lòtbò rivyè yo. Epi sa dwe fèt san fè reta.
“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 Nenpòt sa ki nesesè, ni jenn towo, belye, ni jenn mouton pou ofrann brile a Bondye syèl la, e ble, sèl, diven ak lwil onksyon, jan prèt Jérusalem yo mande a, fòk sa bay a yo chak jou san manke,
“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 pou yo kab ofri sakrifis agreyab a Bondye syèl la, e priye pou lavi a wa a avèk fis 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 Epi mwen te pibliye yon lòd ke nenpòt moun ki vyole dekrè sa a, yon travès bwa va rache sou pwòp kay li, li va leve wo, e atache sou li. E lakay li va devni yon gwo pil fatra.
“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 Ke Bondye ki te fè non Li rete la, ta dechouke nenpòt wa oswa pèp ki ta leve men l chanje sa a pou li ta detwi kay Bondye sa a, Jérusalem. Mwen, Darius, te pase lòd sa a. Kite li akonpli avèk dilijans!
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 Alò, Thathnaï, gouvènè pwovens lòtbò rivyè a, Schethar-Boznaï, avèk kolèg parèy a yo te konfòme avèk dilijans a lòd sa a jan Wa Darius te voye bay li a.
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 Epi ansyen pami Jwif yo te reyisi nan konstriksyon an selon asistans pwofesi ki t ap fèt pa Aggée avèk Zacharie yo, fis a Iddo a. Konsa, yo te fin bati selon lòd Bondye Israël la, dekrè a Cyrus la, Darius ak Artaxerxès, wa a Perse la.
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 Tanp sa a te fini sou twazyèm jou nan mwa Adar a. Li te nan sizyèm ane règn Wa Darius la.
They finished building it on March 12, during the sixth year that King Darius [ruled].
16 Epi fis Israël yo, prèt yo, Levit yo ak tout lòt moun egzil ki te retounen yo, te selebre dedikasyon kay Bondye sila a avèk jwa.
Then the priests and the Levites and all the other Israeli people who had returned from Babylon very joyfully dedicated the temple.
17 Yo te ofri pou dedikasyon tanp Bondye sila a san towo, de-san belye, kat-san jenn mouton, e kon ofrann peche pou tout Israël la, douz mal kabrit ki te koresponn a non tribi Israël yo.
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 Epi yo te chwazi prèt yo a divizyon pa yo ak Levit yo nan lòd pa yo pou sèvis Bondye Jérusalem nan, jan sa ekri nan liv Moïse 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 Moun egzil yo te obsève fèt Pak la nan katòzyèm jou nan premye mwa a.
On April 21, the Jews who had returned from Babylon celebrated the Passover Festival.
20 Paske prèt yo avèk Levit yo te fin pirifye yo ansanm, yo tout nan yo te pwòp. Epi yo te touye jenn mouton Pak la pou tout moun egzil yo, ni pou frè pa yo, prèt yo ak pou yo menm.
[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 Fis a Israël ki te retounen an egzil yo, e tout sila ki te separe yo menm de lempite a nasyon nan peyi yo pou fè ansanm avèk yo, pou chache SENYÈ a, Bondye Israël la, te manje Pak 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 Epi yo te obsève Fèt Pen San Ledven an pandan sèt jou avèk jwa, paske SENYÈ a te fè yo rejwi, e te detounen kè a wa a Assyrie a vè yo pou ankouraje yo nan travay lakay Bondye a, Bondye Israël 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].
