Ezra 5-6

New American Standard Bible 1995

Temple Work Resumed

5 When the prophets, ^(A)Haggai the prophet 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 then ^(C)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and ^(D)the prophets of God were with them supporting them.

³ At that time ^(E)Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the ^[a]River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues came to them and spoke to them thus, “^(F)Who issued you a decree to rebuild this ^[b]temple and to finish this structure?” ^4 (G)Then we told them accordingly what the names of the men were who were reconstructing this building. ⁵ But ^(H)the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until a report could come to Darius, and then a written reply be returned concerning it.

Adversaries Write to Darius

⁶ This is the copy of the letter which ^(I)Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai and his colleagues ^(J)the officials, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. ⁷ They sent a report to him in which it was written thus: “To Darius the king, all peace. ⁸ Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, which is being built with huge stones, and ^[c]beams are being laid in the walls; and this work is going on with great care and is succeeding in their hands. ⁹ Then we asked those elders and said to them thus, ‘Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?’ ¹⁰ We also asked them their names so as to inform you, and that we might write down the names of the men who were at their head. ¹¹ Thus they ^[d]answered us, saying, ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth and are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, ^(K)which a great king of Israel built and finished. ¹² But ^(L)because our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, ^(M)He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon. ¹³ However, ^(N)in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus ^(O)issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. ¹⁴ Also ^(P)the gold and silver utensils of the house of God which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple ^[e]in Jerusalem, and brought them to the temple of Babylon, these King Cyrus took from the temple of Babylon and they were given to one ^(Q)whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor. ¹⁵ He said to him, “Take these utensils, go and deposit them in the temple ^[f]in Jerusalem and let the house of God be rebuilt in its place.” ¹⁶ Then that Sheshbazzar came and ^(R)laid the foundations of the house of God ^[g]in Jerusalem; and from then until now it has been under construction and it is ^(S)not yet completed.’ ¹⁷ “Now if it pleases the king, ^(T)let a search be conducted in the king’s treasure house, which is there in Babylon, if it be that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild this house of God at Jerusalem; and let the king send to us his decision concerning this matter.”

Darius Finds Cyrus’s Decree

6 Then King Darius issued a decree, and ^(U)search was made in the ^[h]archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. ² In ^[i]Ecbatana in the fortress, which is ^(V)in the province of Media, a scroll was found and there was written in it as follows: “Memorandum— ^3 (W)In the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king issued a decree: ‘Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the ^[j]temple, the place where sacrifices are offered, be rebuilt and let its foundations be ^[k]retained, its height being 60 cubits and its width 60 cubits; ^4 (X)with three layers of huge stones and ^[l]one layer of timbers. And let the cost be paid from the ^[m]royal treasury. ⁵ Also let ^(Y)the gold and silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and ^[n]brought to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God.’

⁶ “Now therefore, ^(Z)Tattenai, governor of the province beyond the ^[o]River, Shethar-bozenai and ^[p]your colleagues, the officials of the provinces beyond the ^[q]River, ^[r]keep away from there. ⁷ Leave this work on the 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, ^(AA)I issue a decree concerning what you are to do for these elders of Judah in the rebuilding of this house of God: the full cost is to be paid to these people from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces beyond the River, and that without delay. ⁹ Whatever is needed, both young bulls, rams, and lambs for a burnt offering to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and anointing oil, as the priests in Jerusalem request, it is to be given to them daily without fail, ¹⁰ that they may offer ^[s]acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and ^(AB)pray for the life of the king and his sons. ¹¹ And I issued a decree that ^(AC)any man who violates this edict, a timber shall be drawn from his house and he shall be impaled on it and ^(AD)his house shall be made a refuse heap on account of this. ¹² May the God who ^(AE)has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who ^[t]attempts to change it, so as to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree, let it be carried out with all diligence!”

The Temple Completed and Dedicated

¹³ Then ^(AF)Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues carried out the decree with all diligence, just as King Darius had sent. ¹⁴ And ^(AG)the elders of the Jews ^[u]were successful in building through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And ^[v]they finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decree ^(AH)of Cyrus, ^(AI)Darius, and ^(AJ)Artaxerxes king of Persia. ¹⁵ This ^[w]temple was completed ^[x]on the third day of the ^(AK)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 ^[y]exiles, ^(AL)celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. ¹⁷ They offered for the dedication of this temple of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel ^(AM)12 male goats, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸ Then they appointed the priests to ^(AN)their divisions and the Levites in ^(AO)their orders for the service of God ^[z]in Jerusalem, ^(AP)as it is written in the book of Moses.

The Passover Observed

^19 (AQ)The exiles observed the Passover on ^(AR)the fourteenth of the first month. ^20 (AS)For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were pure. Then ^(AT)they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, both for their brothers the priests and for themselves. ²¹ The sons of Israel who returned from exile and ^(AU)all those who had separated themselves from ^(AV)the impurity of the nations of the land to join them, to seek the Lord God of Israel, ate the Passover. ²² And ^(AW)they observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had caused them to rejoice, and ^(AX)had turned the heart of ^(AY)the king of Assyria toward them to ^[aa]encourage them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.