Esdras 6
1 Así, el rey Darío ordenó que se buscara en los archivos que se encontraban en el tesoro de Babilonia.
[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 Pero en realidad fue en la fortaleza de Ecbatana, en la provincia de Media, donde se encontró un pergamino que registraba lo siguiente
[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 En el primer año del rey Ciro, éste emitió un decreto relativo al Templo de Dios en Jerusalén: “Que se reconstruya el Templo como lugar donde se ofrezcan sacrificios, y que tenga unos cimientos fuertes y firmes. Hazlo de sesenta codos de alto y sesenta codos de ancho,
“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 con tres capas de bloques de piedra y una de madera. Los gastos se pagarán con el tesoro real.
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 Además, los objetos de oro y plata del Templo de Dios, que Nabucodonosor tomó del Templo de Jerusalén y llevó a Babilonia, también deben ser devueltos al Templo de Jerusalén y colocados allí.
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 “Estas son mis instrucciones para ti, Tatnai, gobernador de la provincia al oeste del Éufrates, Setar-boznai, y para tus compañeros y funcionarios de la provincia: ¡Aléjate de allí!
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 ¡Deja en paz esta obra en el Templo de Dios! Dejen que el gobernador y los líderes de los judíos continúen con la reconstrucción de este Templo de Dios en su sitio original.
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 Además, este es mi decreto en cuanto a lo que debes hacer por estos líderes judíos en cuanto a la reconstrucción de este Templo de Dios. El gasto total de la obra se pagará con los ingresos reales, el tributo de la provincia al oeste del Éufrates, para que la obra no se retrase.
“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 Proporciona todo lo que necesiten los sacerdotes de Jerusalén: novillos, carneros y corderos para los holocaustos al Dios del cielo, y trigo, sal, vino y aceite de oliva. Asegúrate de darles esto cada día sin falta.
“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 De esta manera podrán ofrecer sacrificios aceptables al Dios del cielo, y pedir por la vida del rey y de sus hijos.
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 Además, declaro que si alguien interfiere con este decreto, se arrancará una viga de su casa y se clavará en el suelo, y él será empalado en ella. Su propia casa se convertirá en un montón de escombros por desobedecer este decreto.
“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 Que Dios, que eligió la ciudad de Jerusalén como el lugar donde sería honrado, destruya a cualquier rey o pueblo que intente alterar lo que he dicho o que destruya este Templo. Yo, Darío, emito este decreto. Que se cumpla fielmente”.
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 Tatnai, el gobernador de la provincia al oeste del Éufrates, Setar-boznai, y sus compañeros oficiales cumplieron fielmente lo que el rey Darío había decretado.
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 Como resultado, los líderes judíos siguieron construyendo, y se sintieron alentados por los mensajes del profeta Ageo y de Zacarías, hijo de Iddo. Terminaron de construir el Templo siguiendo el mandato del Dios de Israel y los decretos de Ciro, Darío y Artajerjes, reyes de 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 El Templo fue terminado el tercer día del mes de Adar, en el sexto año del reinado del rey Darío.
They finished building it on March 12, during the sixth year that King Darius [ruled].
16 Entonces el pueblo de Israel, los sacerdotes, los levitas y el resto de los que habían regresado del exilio, celebraron con alegría la dedicación del Templo de Dios.
Then the priests and the Levites and all the other Israeli people who had returned from Babylon very joyfully dedicated the temple.
17 Para dedicar el Templo de Dios sacrificaron cien toros, doscientos carneros, cuatrocientos corderos y una ofrenda por el pecado para todo Israel compuesta por doce machos cabríos, uno por cada tribu israelita.
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 Organizaron a los sacerdotes y a los levitas por sus divisiones para servir a Dios en el Templo de Jerusalén, de acuerdo con el Libro de Moisés.
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 Los exiliados que habían regresado celebraban la Pascua el día catorce del primer mes.
On April 21, the Jews who had returned from Babylon celebrated the Passover Festival.
20 Los sacerdotes y los levitas se habían purificado para estar limpios según la ley ceremonial. Así que mataron el cordero de la Pascua para todos los exiliados que habían regresado, para sus compañeros sacerdotes y para ellos mismos.
[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 La Pascua la comían el pueblo de Israel que había regresado del exilio y los que se habían unido a ellos y habían rechazado las prácticas paganas de los pueblos de la tierra para adorar al Señor, el Dios de 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 Entonces celebraron la Fiesta de los Panes sin Levadura durante siete días. Todos los habitantes del país estaban muy contentos porque el Señor había hecho que el rey de Asiria les fuera favorable, ayudándoles a reconstruir el Templo de Dios, el Dios de 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].
