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The Temple Is Dedicated

13 Governor Tattenai, Shethar Bozenai, and their advisors carefully obeyed King Darius. 14 (A) With great success the Jewish leaders continued working on the temple, while Haggai and Zechariah encouraged them by their preaching. And so, the temple was completed at the command of the God of Israel and by the orders of kings Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes of Persia.[a] 15 On the third day of the month of Adar[b] in the sixth year of the rule of Darius,[c] the temple was finished.

16 The people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and everyone else who had returned from exile were happy and celebrated as they dedicated God's temple. 17 One hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs were offered as sacrifices at the dedication. Also twelve goats were sacrificed as sin offerings for the twelve tribes of Israel. 18 Then the priests and Levites were assigned their duties in God's temple in Jerusalem, according to the instructions Moses had written.[d]

The Passover

19 (B) Everyone who had returned from exile celebrated Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.[e] 20 The priests and Levites had gone through a ceremony to make themselves acceptable to lead in worship. Then some of them killed Passover lambs for those who had returned, including the other priests and themselves.

21 The sacrifices were eaten by the Israelites who had returned and by the neighboring people who had given up the sinful customs of other nations in order to worship the Lord God of Israel. 22 For seven days they celebrated the Festival of Thin Bread. Everyone was happy because the Lord God of Israel had made sure that the king of Assyria[f] would be kind to them and help them build the temple.

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Footnotes

  1. 6.14 Artaxerxes of Persia: See the note at 4.7.
  2. 6.15 Adar: The twelfth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-February to about mid-March.
  3. 6.15 sixth year … Darius: 515 b.c.
  4. 6.18 Ezra 4.8—6.18 was written in Aramaic, instead of Hebrew like most of the Old Testament.
  5. 6.19 the first month: Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-March to mid-April.
  6. 6.22 king of Assyria: Meaning the king of Persia, because Assyria was now part of the Persian Empire.

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(A) carried it out with diligence. 14 So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching(B) 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,(C) Darius(D) and Artaxerxes,(E) 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.(F)

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

The Passover

19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover.(L) 20 The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered(M) 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(N) from the unclean practices(O) of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the Lord,(P) the God of Israel. 22 For seven days they celebrated with joy the Festival of Unleavened Bread,(Q) because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude(R) of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 6:17 Or purification offering