Psalm 118

The Decree of Darius

6 King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives^(A) stored in the treasury at Babylon. ² A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it:

Completion and Dedication of the Temple

¹³ Then, because of the decree King Darius had sent, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates^(Q) carried it out with diligence. ¹⁴ So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching^(R) of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus,^(S) Darius^(T) and Artaxerxes,^(U) kings of Persia. ¹⁵ The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.^(V)

¹⁶ Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication^(W) of the house of God with joy. ¹⁷ For the dedication of this house of God they offered^(X) a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred male lambs and, as a sin offering^[b] for all Israel, twelve male goats, one for each of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸ And they installed the priests in their divisions^(Y) and the Levites in their groups^(Z) for the service of God at Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.^(AA)

The Passover

¹⁹ On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover.^{(AB) 20} The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered^(AC) the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their relatives the priests and for themselves. ²¹ So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves^(AD) from the unclean practices^(AE) of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the Lord,^(AF) the God of Israel. ²² For seven days they celebrated with joy the Festival of Unleavened Bread,^(AG) because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude^(AH) of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.

¹¹ Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand.^(A) They encircled the throne and the living creatures^(B) and the elders.^{(C) 12} In a loud voice they were saying:

¹³ Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth^(G) and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

¹⁴ The four living creatures^(K) said, “Amen,”^(L) and the elders^(M) fell down and worshiped.^(N)

The Seals

6 I watched as the Lamb^(O) opened the first of the seven seals.^(P) Then I heard one of the four living creatures^(Q) say in a voice like thunder,^(R) “Come!” ² I looked, and there before me was a white horse!^(S) Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown,^(T) and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.^(U)

³ When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature^(V) say, “Come!” ⁴ Then another horse came out, a fiery red one.^(W) Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth^(X) and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.

⁵ When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature^(Y) say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse!^(Z) Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures,^(AA) saying, “Two pounds^[a] of wheat for a day’s wages,^[b] and six pounds^[c] of barley for a day’s wages,^[d](AB) and do not damage^(AC) the oil and the wine!”

⁷ When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature^(AD) say, “Come!” ⁸ I looked, and there before me was a pale horse!^(AE) Its rider was named Death, and Hades^(AF) was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.^(AG)

⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under^(AH) the altar^(AI) the souls of those who had been slain^(AJ) because of the word of God^(AK) and the testimony they had maintained. ¹⁰ They called out in a loud voice, “How long,^(AL) Sovereign Lord,^(AM) holy and true,^(AN) until you judge the inhabitants of the earth^(AO) and avenge our blood?”^{(AP) 11} Then each of them was given a white robe,^(AQ) and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters,^[e] were killed just as they had been.^(AR)

¹⁰ The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

¹¹ He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven^(A) has been given to you,^(B) but not to them. ¹² Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.^{(C) 13} This is why I speak to them in parables:

¹⁴ In them is fulfilled^(E) the prophecy of Isaiah:

¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.^{(G) 17} For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see^(H) but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.