Ezra 6

The Decree Is Found and the Temple Gets Finished

The King’s Search

1 Then King Darius gave the order to search the archives where the treasures were stored in Babylon.

2 They found a scroll in the fortress of Ecbatana, in the province of Media, and this is what was written on it:

3 “In the first year of King Cyrus, he gave this order about God’s house in Jerusalem: Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where they offer sacrifices. Lay its foundation strong. It should be ninety feet high and ninety feet wide.”

4 “With three layers of large stones and one layer of timber. The king’s treasury will cover the costs.”

5 “Also, let the gold and silver articles from God’s house, what Nebuchadnezzar took and brought to Babylon, be returned and put back in the temple in Jerusalem, in their rightful places.”

Tattenai Gets a New Order

6 “So now, Tattenai, governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and your boys, stay away from them.”

7 “Do not mess with the work on this house of God. Let the governor and elders of the Jews rebuild it right where it stood.”

8 “Moreover, I am giving another order: You must fully fund the Jewish elders from the royal money collected west of the Euphrates, so the work will not stop.”

9 “Give them whatever they need, young bulls, rams, or lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven. Also wheat, salt, wine, and oil. Give it daily without fail.”

10 “So they can offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons.”

11 “I am also laying this down: If anyone violates this order, tear down their house, and impale them on a beam from it. Let their home be turned into a garbage dump.”

12 “May the God who caused His name to be placed there destroy any king or people who try to mess with or destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have given this order. Let it be done with full force.”

The Temple Gets Finished

13 So Tattenai, Shethar-bozenai, and their crew did exactly what King Darius ordered.

14 And the Jewish elders kept building and had success because of the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. They finished building it by command of the God of Israel and by the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.

15 The temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar. It was the sixth year of King Darius’s reign.

The Temple Is Dedicated

16 Then the Israelites, the priests, the Levites, and the rest who came back from exile, celebrated the dedication of God’s house with joy.

17 They offered 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and 12 male goats (one for each tribe of Israel) as a sin offering for all the people.

18 They also put the priests and Levites in their positions to serve God in Jerusalem, just like it is written in the Book of Moses.

The Passover Is Celebrated

19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover.

20 The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. They slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, their fellow priests, and themselves.

21 So the Israelites who returned from exile ate it, along with everyone who had turned away from the dirty ways of the surrounding nations to follow the LORD, the God of Israel.

22 For seven days they celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread with joy, because the LORD had made them joyful and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, strengthening their hands for the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.