Ezra 6
6Then King Darius issued an order to search the Hall of Records where the Babylonian archives were stored.H116H1868H4430H7761H2942H1240H1005H5609H8536H1596H5182H8952The following was found written on a scroll in Ecbatana at the summer palace of the province of Media:H7912H307H1001H4083H4076H2298H4040H1459H1799H3652H37903Date: First year of Cyrus the King From: King Cyrus Subject: The temple of God in Jerusalem Let the temple be rebuilt where they offered sacrifices. Let the foundations thereof be laid with a height of ninety feet and a width of ninety feet,H2298H8140H3567H4430H3567H4430H7761H2942H1005H426H3390H1005H1124H870H1684H1685H787H5446H7314H8361H521H6613H8361H5214constructed with three layers of foundation stone interlaced with a row of new timber, the expenses for which shall be paid from the king's treasury.H8532H5073H1560H69H5073H2323H636H5313H3052H4481H4430H10055Furthermore, let the gold and silver utensils from the temple of God (that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried off to Babylon) be brought back to the temple at Jerusalem and restored to their respective places in the temple of God.H638H1722H3702H3984H1005H426H5020H5312H4481H1965H3390H2987H895H8421H1946H1965H3390H870H5182H1005H4266To: Tattenai, Trans-Euphrates Governor, Shethar-boznai, and your colleagues living beyond the Euphrates River. Stay away from there!H3705H8674H6347H5675H5103H8370H3675H671H5675H5103H1934H7352H4481H85367Leave the work on this temple of God alone! Let the Jewish governor and the Jewish leaders build this temple of God on its site.H5673H1791H1005H426H7662H6347H3062H7868H3062H1124H1791H1005H426H5922H8708Furthermore, I hereby decree what you are to do for the Jewish leaders who are building this temple of God: you are to pay the expenses of these men out of the king's assets from taxes collected beyond the River so that they are not hindered.H4481H7761H2942H3964H5648H5974H7868H479H3062H1124H1791H1005H426H4430H5232H1768H4061H5675H5103H629H5313H1934H3052H479H1400H3809H9899And be sure that you don't fail to provide their daily needs - including young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of Heaven, along with wheat, salt, wine, and oil, as the priests in Jerusalem tell you?H4101H2818H1123H8450H1798H563H5928H426H8065H2591H4416H2562H4887H3983H3549H3390H1934H3052H3118H3118H3809H796010so they may approach the God of Heaven with fragrant sacrifices and pray for the life of this king and his sons.H1934H7127H5208H426H8065H6739H2417H4430H112311I hereby also decree that whoever shall alter the wording of this edict, let his residence be torn down for timber to build a gallows, hang him on it, and turn his home into an outhouse.H4481H7761H2942H3606H606H8133H1836H6600H636H5256H4481H1005H2211H4223H5922H1005H5648H5122H5922H183612And may the God who causes his Name to rest there destroy any king or people who might attempt to destroy this temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree. Let it be carried out quickly.H426H8036H7932H8536H4049H3606H4430H5972H7972H3028H8133H2255H1791H1005H426H3390H576H1868H7761H2942H5648H62913Because of what King Darius had mandated, Tattenai, the Trans-Euphrates Governor, Shethar-boznai, and their colleagues carried out his orders quickly.H116H8674H6347H5675H5103H8370H3675H6903H1868H4430H7972H3660H5648H62914And so the Jewish leaders continued their building, and prospered because of the prophecies of Haggai the prophet and Iddo's son Zechariah. They completed the rebuilding in accordance with the commandment from the God of Israel and the edicts of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, king of Persia.H7868H3062H1124H6744H5017H2292H5029H2148H1247H5714H1124H3635H4481H2941H426H3479H2942H3567H1868H783H4430H654015The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar during the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.6H1836H1005H3319H5705H8532H3118H3393H144H1932H8353H8140H4437H1868H443016The Israelites - the priests, the Levites, and the other related descendants who had returned from captivity - celebrated with joy at the dedication of the temple of God.H1123H3479H3549H3879H7606H1123H1547H5648H2597H1836H1005H426H230517At the dedication offering of the temple of God, they presented 100 bulls, 200 rams, and 400 lambs, along with a sin offering of twelve male goats for the entire nation of Israel according to the number of the tribes of Israel.H7127H2597H1836H1005H426H3969H8450H3969H1798H703H3969H563H2402H2409H5922H3606H3479H8648H6236H6841H5796H4510H7625H347918Furthermore, they established the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their positions for the service of God conducted at Jerusalem, as is proscribed in the Book of Moses.H6966H3549H6392H3879H4255H5922H5673H426H3390H3792H5609H487319The former exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first monthH1121H1473H6213H6453H702H6240H7223H232020because the priests and Levites had purified themselves together - all of them were pure - and they killed the Passover lamb for every former exile, for their relatives the priests, and for themselves.H3548H3881H2891H259H2889H7819H6453H1121H1473H251H354821So the Israelites who had returned from captivity ate the Passover with all who had consecrated themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land in order to seek the Lord God of Israel.H1121H3478H7725H1473H914H2932H1471H776H1875H3068H430H3478H39822Then they observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the Lord had made them glad, turning the heart of the king of Assyria toward them and strengthening them for their work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.H6213H2282H4682H7651H3117H8057H3068H8055H5437H3820H4428H804H2388H3027H4399H1004H430H430H3478
Columbus, OH
