Etera 6
1 Katahi ka puaki ta Tariuha tikanga, a ka rapua i roto i te whare pukapuka, kei reira nei nga taonga e rongoa ana i Papurona.
[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 Na kua kitea ki Akameta, i roto i te whare kingi i te whenua o nga Meri, he pukapuka, me tetahi kupu whakamahara i tuhituhia ki roto; koia tenei:
[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 te tuatahi o nga tau o Kingi Hairuha i puaki ta Kingi Hairuha tikanga; Mo te whare o te Atua i Hiruharama, Me hanga te whare, te wahi e patua ai nga patunga tapu, kia u ano hoki te whakatakoto o nga turanga; kia ono tekau whatianga te tiketike, kia ono tekau whatianga te whanui;
“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 Kia toru nga rarangi o nga kohatu nunui, kia kotahi hoki rarangi o te rakau hou: me hoatu ano nga utu i roto i te whare o te kingi;
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 Me whakahoki ano nga oko koura, hiriwa, o te whare o te Atua, i tangohia nei e Nepukaneha i roto i te temepara i Hiruharama, i kawea nei ki Papurona; me kawe ano ki te temepara i Hiruharama, ki tona wahi, ki tona wahi, me whakatakoto e koe ki te whare o te Atua.
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 Na, e Tatenai, e te kawana i tera taha o te awa, e Hetara Potenai, me o koutou hoa, me nga Aparahaki, i tera taha o te awa, kia matara mai koutou i reira.
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 Waiho noa atu te mahi o tena whare o te Atua. Waiho atu te kawana o nga Hurai, ratou ko nga kaumatua o nga Hurai, kia mahi ana i tena whare o te Atua i tona wahi.
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 Tenei ano tetahi tikanga aku mo ta koutou e mea ai ki aua kaumatua o nga Hurai, hei mea mo te hanganga o tenei whare o te Atua: kia hohoro te hoatu i etahi o nga taonga o te kingi, ara o te takoha i tera taha o te awa, ki ena tangata, hei utu mea, kei whakawarea ratou.
“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 Na, ko nga mea e kore ana i a ratou, nga kuao puru, nga hipi toa, nga reme hei tahunga tinana ma te Atua o te rangi, te witi, te tote, te waina, te hinu, nga mea e whakaritea e nga tohunga i Hiruharama, kei mahue te hoatu ki a ratou i tena ra, i tena ra;
“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 Kia whakaherea ai e ratou etahi whakahere kakara ki te Atua o te rangi, kia inoi ai mo te kingi, mo ana tama, kia ora.
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 Kua hanga ano hoki e ahau he tikanga, ki te whakaputaia ketia tenei kupu e tetahi, kia unuhia he kurupae i tona whare, a ka whakairi i a ia, ka tarona ai ki runga; kia meinga ano tona whare hei puranga paru, hei utu mo tena.
“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 Na ma te Atua nana nei i mea kia noho tona ingoa ki reira, e huna nga kingi katoa, me nga iwi, ina totoro o ratou ringa ki te whakaputa ke, ki te whakangaro i tena whare o te Atua i Hiruharama. Naku, na Tariuha te tikanga i whakatakoto; kia hoho ro te meatanga.
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 Katahi a Tatenai, te kawana o tera taha o te awa, a Hetara Potenai me o raua hoa, i te mea na Kingi Tariuha i tono mai, ka hohoro tonu ta ratou pera.
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 Na kei te hanga nga kaumatua o nga Hurai; tika tonu ta ratou, he mea na te poropititanga a Hakai poropiti raua ko Hakaraia tama a Iro. Na hanga ana ratou, a oti ake; i rite tonu ki te whakahau a te Atua o Iharaira, ki te whakahau a Hairuha, a Ta riuha, a Arataherehe kingi o Pahia.
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 No te toru o nga ra o te marama Arara i oti ai tenei whare, no te ono ano tera o nga tau o te kingitanga o Kingi Tariuha.
They finished building it on March 12, during the sixth year that King Darius [ruled].
16 Na i taia e nga tama a Iharaira, e nga tohunga, e nga Riwaiti, me era atu o nga tama a te whakarau, te kawa o tenei whare o te Atua i runga i te koa.
Then the priests and the Levites and all the other Israeli people who had returned from Babylon very joyfully dedicated the temple.
17 Tapaea ana hoki e ratou i te tainga o te kawa o tenei whare o te Atua, kotahi rau puru, e rua rau hipi toa, e wha rau reme; a hei whakahere hara mo Iharaira katoa, kotahi tekau ma rua koati toa, ko te maha hoki ia o nga iwi o Iharaira.
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 I whakaturia ano e ratou nga tohunga, tenei wehenga, tenei wehenga, me nga Riwaiti, tenei ropu, tenei ropu, mo nga mahi ki te Atua i Hiruharama; ko te mea hoki i tuhituhia ki te pukapuka a Mohi.
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 I te tekau ma wha o te marama tuatahi ka mahi nga tama o te whakarau i te kapenga.
On April 21, the Jews who had returned from Babylon celebrated the Passover Festival.
20 I purea hoki nga tohunga ratou ko nga Riwaiti, he mea pure huihui ratou, a patua ana e ratou te kapenga ma nga tama katoa o te whakarau, ma o ratou tuakana, ma nga tohunga, ma ratou ano hoki.
[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 Na ka kai nga tama a Iharaira i hoki mai nei i te whakarau, me te hunga katoa i mawehe mai nei ki a ratou i roto i te poke o nga iwi o te whenua, ki te rapu i a Ihowa, i te Atua o Iharaira,
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 A ka mahia e ratou te hakari o te taro rawenakore, e whitu nga ra, i runga i te koa: Na Ihowa hoki ratou i mea kia koa, nana hoki i whakaanga mai te ngakau o te kingi o Ahiria ki a ratou, i whakakaha ai ia i o ratou ringa ki te mahi i te whare o te Atua, o te Atua o Iharaira.
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].
