²⁴ Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Restoration of the Temple Resumed^(A)

5 Then the prophet ^(B)Haggai and ^(C)Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. ² So ^(D)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of ^[a]Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and ^(E)the prophets of God were with them, helping them.

³ At the same time ^(F)Tattenai the governor of the region beyond ^[b]the River and Shethar-Boznai and their companions came to them and spoke thus to them: ^(G)“Who has commanded you to build this ^[c]temple and finish this wall?” ^4 (H)Then, accordingly, we told them the names of the men who were constructing this building. ⁵ But ^(I)the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius. Then a ^(J)written answer was returned concerning this matter. ⁶ This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai sent:

⁷ (They sent a letter to him, in which was written thus.)

The Decree of Darius

6 Then King Darius issued a decree, ^(W)and a search was made in the ^[h]archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. ² And at ^[i]Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of ^(X)Media, a scroll was found, and in it a record was written thus:

The Temple Completed and Dedicated

¹³ Then Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions diligently did according to what King Darius had sent. ^14 (AG)So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the ^[l]command of ^(AH)Cyrus, ^(AI)Darius, and ^(AJ)Artaxerxes king of Persia. ¹⁵ Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. ¹⁶ Then the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the descendants of the captivity, celebrated ^(AK)the dedication of this ^[m]house of God with joy. ¹⁷ And they ^(AL)offered sacrifices at the dedication of this house of God, one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸ They assigned the priests to their ^(AM)divisions and the Levites to their ^(AN)divisions, over the service of God in Jerusalem, ^(AO)as it is written in the Book of Moses.

The Passover Celebrated^(AP)

^19 [n]And the descendants of the captivity kept the Passover ^(AQ)on the fourteenth day of the first month. ²⁰ For the priests and the Levites had ^(AR)purified themselves; all of them were ritually clean. And they ^(AS)slaughtered the Passover lambs for all the descendants of the captivity, for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. ²¹ Then the children of Israel who had returned from the captivity ate together with all who had separated themselves from the ^(AT)filth^[o] of the nations of the land in order to seek the Lord God of Israel. ²² And they kept the ^(AU)Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for the Lord made them joyful, and ^(AV)turned the heart ^(AW)of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Watering, Working, Warning

⁵ Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ^(A)ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? ^6 (B)I planted, ^(C)Apollos watered, ^(D)but God gave the increase. ⁷ So then ^(E)neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. ⁸ Now he who plants and he who waters are one, ^(F)and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

⁹ For ^(G)we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are ^(H)God’s building. ^10 (I)According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid ^(J)the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. ¹¹ For no other foundation can anyone lay than ^(K)that which is laid, ^(L)which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, ¹³ each one’s work will become clear; for the Day ^(M)will declare it, because ^(N)it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. ¹⁴ If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

^16 (O)Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ¹⁷ If anyone ^[a]defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

Avoid Worldly Wisdom

^18 (P)Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, ^(Q)“He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; ²⁰ and again, ^(R)“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” ²¹ Therefore let no one boast in men. For ^(S)all things are yours: ²² whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. ²³ And ^(T)you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

Praise to God in His Holiness and Majesty

A Psalm of David.