Rebuilding Begins Anew

5 Now the prophets, ^(A)Haggai and ^(B)Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. ^2 (C)Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and ^(D)Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were ^(E)with them, supporting them.

³ At the same time ^(F)Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: ^(G)“Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?” ⁴ They also asked them this:^[a] “What are the names of the men who are building this building?” ⁵ But ^(H)the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it.

Tattenai's Letter to King Darius

⁶ This is a copy of the letter that ^(I)Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and his associates, the ^(J)governors who were in the province Beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. ⁷ They sent him a report, in which was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace. ⁸ Be it known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built with huge stones, and timber is laid in the walls. This work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands. ⁹ Then we asked those elders and spoke to them thus: ^(K)‘Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?’ ¹⁰ We also asked them their names, for your information, that we might write down the names of their leaders.^{[b] 11} And this was their reply to us: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, ^(L)which a great king of Israel built and ^(M)finished. ^12 (N)But because our fathers had angered the God of heaven, he ^(O)gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried away the people to Babylonia. ^13 (P)However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree that this house of God should be rebuilt. ^14 (Q)And the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, these Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was ^(R)Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; ¹⁵ and he said to him, “Take these vessels, go and put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site.” ¹⁶ Then this ^(S)Sheshbazzar came and ^(T)laid the foundations of the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been in building, and it is ^(U)not yet finished.’ ¹⁷ Therefore, if it seems good to the king, ^(V)let search be made in the royal archives there in Babylon, to see whether a decree was issued by Cyrus the king for the rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem. And let the king send us his pleasure in this matter.”

The Decree of Darius

6 Then Darius the king made a decree, and ^(W)search was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives where the documents were stored. ² And in Ecbatana, the citadel that is ^(X)in the province of Media, a scroll was found on which this was written: “A record. ³ In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be sixty cubits^[c] and its breadth sixty cubits, ^4 (Y)with three layers of great stones and one layer of timber. Let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. ⁵ And also ^(Z)let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought back to the temple that is in Jerusalem, each to its place. You shall put them in the house of God.”

⁶ “Now therefore, ^(AA)Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, ^(AB)and your^[d] associates the governors who are in the province Beyond the River, keep away. ⁷ Let the work on this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. ⁸ Moreover, ^(AC)I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River. ⁹ And whatever is needed—bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, as the priests at Jerusalem require—let that be given to them day by day without fail, ¹⁰ that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven ^(AD)and pray for the life of the king and his sons. ¹¹ Also I make a decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and ^(AE)his house shall be made a dunghill. ¹² May the God ^(AF)who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who shall put out a hand to alter this, or to destroy this house of God that is in Jerusalem. I Darius make a decree; let it be done with all diligence.”

The Temple Finished and Dedicated

¹³ Then, according to the word sent by Darius the king, ^(AG)Tattenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates did with all diligence what Darius the king had ordered. ^14 (AH)And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and ^(AI)by decree of Cyrus and ^(AJ)Darius and ^(AK)Artaxerxes king of Persia; ¹⁵ and this house was finished on the third day of the ^(AL)month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

¹⁶ And the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the ^(AM)dedication of this house of God with joy. ¹⁷ They offered at the dedication of this house of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel ^(AN)12 male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸ And they set the priests ^(AO)in their divisions and the Levites ^(AP)in their divisions, for the service of God at Jerusalem, ^(AQ)as it is written in the Book of Moses.

Passover Celebrated

^19 (AR)On the fourteenth day of the first month, the returned exiles kept the Passover. ^20 (AS)For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were clean. ^(AT)So they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves. ²¹ It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and ^(AU)also by every one who had joined them and separated himself ^(AV)from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the Lord, the God of Israel. ²² And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread ^(AW)seven days with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful ^(AX)and had turned the heart of ^(AY)the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Give Thanks to the Lord

Of David.

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

16 He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had ^(A)a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. ² And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your ^(B)management, for you can no longer be manager.’ ³ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ ⁵ So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶ He said, ‘A hundred measures^[a] of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ ⁷ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures^[b] of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁸ The master commended the dishonest manager for his ^(C)shrewdness. For ^(D)the sons of this world^[c] are ^(E)more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than ^(F)the sons of light. ⁹ And I tell you, ^(G)make friends for yourselves by means of ^(H)unrighteous wealth,^[d] so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

^10 (I)“One who is ^(J)faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. ¹¹ If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? ¹² And if you have not been faithful in ^(K)that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? ^13 (L)No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

The Law and the Kingdom of God

^14 (M)The Pharisees, who were ^(N)lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ^(O)ridiculed him. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “You are those who ^(P)justify yourselves before men, but ^(Q)God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men ^(R)is an abomination in the sight of God.

^16 (S)“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then ^(T)the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and ^(U)everyone forces his way into it.^{[e] 17} But ^(V)it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.

Divorce and Remarriage

^18 (W)“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “There was a rich man who was clothed in ^(X)purple and fine linen and ^(Y)who feasted sumptuously every day. ²⁰ And at his gate ^(Z)was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, ²¹ who desired to be fed with ^(AA)what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² The poor man died and was carried by ^(AB)the angels ^(AC)to Abraham's side.^[f] The rich man also died and was buried, ²³ and in ^(AD)Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and ^(AE)saw Abraham far off and Lazarus ^(AF)at his side. ²⁴ And he called out, ^(AG)‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and ^(AH)cool my tongue, for ^(AI)I am in anguish in this flame.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that ^(AJ)you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ ²⁷ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— ²⁸ for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ ²⁹ But Abraham said, ‘They have ^(AK)Moses and the Prophets; ^(AL)let them hear them.’ ³⁰ And he said, ‘No, ^(AM)father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear ^(AN)Moses and the Prophets, ^(AO)neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”