Darius Finds Cyrus’ Decree

6 Then King Darius issued a decree, and a ^(A)search was conducted in the ^[a]archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. ² And in ^[b]Ecbatana, in the fortress which is ^(B)in the province of Media, a scroll was found; and the following was written in it: “Memorandum— ^3 (C)In the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king issued a decree: ‘Concerning the house of God in Jerusalem, let the ^[c]temple, the place where sacrifices are offered, be rebuilt, and let ^[d]its foundations be repaired, its height being ^[e]sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, ^4 (D)with three layers of large stones and ^[f]one layer of timber. And the cost is to be paid from the ^[g]royal treasury. ⁵ Also ^(E)the gold and silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned and ^[h]brought to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God.’

⁶ “Now as for you, ^(F)Tattenai, governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and ^[i]your colleagues, the officials of the provinces beyond the River, ^[j]stay away from there. ⁷ Leave that work on the house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild that house of God on its site. ⁸ Furthermore, ^(G)I issue a decree concerning what you are to do for these elders of Judah in the rebuilding of that house of God: the full cost is to be paid to those people from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces beyond the Euphrates River, and that without interruption. ⁹ And whatever is needed, bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine, and anointing oil, as the priests in Jerusalem order, it is to be given to them daily without fail, ¹⁰ so that they may offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and ^(H)pray for the lives of the king and his sons. ¹¹ And I issued a decree that ^(I)any person who violates this decree, a timber shall be pulled out of his house and he shall be impaled on it; and ^(J)his house shall be turned into a refuse heap on account of this. ¹² May the God who ^(K)has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who ^[k]attempts to ^[l]change it, so as to destroy that house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree; it is to be carried out with all diligence!”

The Temple Completed and Dedicated

¹³ Then ^(L)Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues carried out the decree with all diligence, just as King Darius had ^[m]ordered. ¹⁴ And ^(M)the elders of the Jews ^[n]were successful in building through the prophecy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And ^[o]they finished building following the command of the God of Israel and the decree ^(N)of Cyrus, ^(O)Darius, and ^(P)Artaxerxes king of Persia. ¹⁵ Now this ^[p]temple was completed ^[q]on the third day of the ^(Q)month Adar; it was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

¹⁶ And the sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the ^[r]exiles, ^(R)celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. ¹⁷ They offered for the dedication of this temple of God a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel ^(S)twelve male goats, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸ Then they appointed the priests to ^(T)their divisions and the Levites in ^(U)their sections for the service of God in Jerusalem, ^(V)as it is written in the Book of Moses.

The Passover Held

^19 (W)The exiles held the Passover on ^(X)the fourteenth of the first month. ^20 (Y)For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were pure. Then ^(Z)they slaughtered the Passover lambs for all the exiles, both for their brothers the priests and for themselves. ²¹ And the sons of Israel who returned from exile and ^(AA)all those who had separated themselves from ^(AB)the impurity of the nations of the land to join them, to seek the Lord God of Israel, ate the Passover. ²² And ^(AC)they held the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the Lord had made them happy, and ^(AD)had turned the heart of ^(AE)the king of Assyria toward them to ^[s]encourage them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

The Believer’s Rest

4 Therefore, we must fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have ^(A)come short of it. ² For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also did; but ^(B)the word ^[a]they heard did not benefit them, because ^[b]they were not united with those who listened with faith. ³ For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said,

although His works were finished ^(D)from the foundation of the world. ⁴ For He has said ^(E)somewhere concerning the seventh day: “^(F)And God ^(G)rested on the seventh day from all His works”; ⁵ and again in this passage, “^(H)They certainly shall not enter My rest.” ⁶ Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who previously had good news preached to them failed to enter because of ^(I)disobedience, ⁷ He again sets a certain day, “Today,” saying ^[c]through David after so long a time just ^(J)as has been said before,

⁸ For ^(L)if ^[d]Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. ⁹ Consequently, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. ¹⁰ For the one who has entered His rest has himself also ^(M)rested from his works, as ^(N)God did from His. ¹¹ Therefore let’s make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same ^(O)example of ^(P)disobedience. ¹² For ^(Q)the word of God is ^(R)living and ^(S)active, and sharper than any two-edged ^(T)sword, even penetrating as far as the division of ^(U)soul and ^(V)spirit, of both joints and marrow, and ^(W)able to ^[e]judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³ And ^(X)there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are ^(Y)open and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom ^[f]we must answer.

¹⁴ Therefore, since we have a great ^(Z)high priest who has ^(AA)passed through the heavens, Jesus ^(AB)the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our ^(AC)confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have ^(AD)a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been ^(AE)tempted in all things just as we are, yet ^(AF)without sin. ¹⁶ Therefore let’s ^(AG)approach the throne of grace with ^(AH)confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need.