Tattenai’s Letter to Darius

5 Now Haggai^(A) the prophet and Zechariah^(B) the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied^(C) to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. ² Then Zerubbabel^(D) son of Shealtiel and Joshua^(E) son of Jozadak set to work^(F) to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

³ At that time Tattenai,^(G) governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai^(H) and their associates went to them and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?”^{(I) 4} They^[a] also asked, “What are the names of those who are constructing this building?” ⁵ But the eye of their God^(J) was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received.

⁶ This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, the officials of Trans-Euphrates, sent to King Darius. ⁷ The report they sent him read as follows:

The Decree of Darius

6 King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives^(U) 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^(AK) carried it out with diligence. ¹⁴ So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching^(AL) 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,^(AM) Darius^(AN) and Artaxerxes,^(AO) 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.^(AP)

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

The Passover

¹⁹ On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover.^{(AV) 20} The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered^(AW) 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^(AX) from the unclean practices^(AY) of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the Lord,^(AZ) the God of Israel. ²² For seven days they celebrated with joy the Festival of Unleavened Bread,^(BA) because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude^(BB) of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.

Psalm 138

Of David.

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

16 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.^{(A) 2} So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

³ “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

⁵ “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

⁶ “‘Nine hundred gallons^[a] of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

⁷ “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushels^[b] of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

⁸ “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world^(B) are more shrewd^(C) in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.^{(D) 9} I tell you, use worldly wealth^(E) to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.^(F)

¹⁰ “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much,^(G) and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ¹¹ So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth,^(H) who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

¹³ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”^(I)

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who loved money,^(J) heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.^{(K) 15} He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves^(L) in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts.^(M) What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

Additional Teachings

¹⁶ “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John.^(N) Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached,^(O) and everyone is forcing their way into it. ¹⁷ It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.^(P)

¹⁸ “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.^(Q)

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.^{(R) 20} At his gate was laid a beggar^(S) named Lazarus, covered with sores ²¹ and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.^(T) Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

²² “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. ²⁴ So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham,^(U) have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’^(V)

²⁵ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things,^(W) but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.^{(X) 26} And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

²⁷ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, ²⁸ for I have five brothers. Let him warn them,^(Y) so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

²⁹ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses^(Z) and the Prophets;^(AA) let them listen to them.’

³⁰ “‘No, father Abraham,’^(AB) he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

³¹ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”