Restoration of the Temple Resumed

5 ^[a]Now the prophets, Hag′gai and Zechari′ah 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 Zerub′babel the son of She-al′ti-el and Jeshua the son of Jo′zadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and with them were the prophets of God, helping them.

³ At the same time Tat′tenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and She′thar-boz′enai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus, “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?” ⁴ They^[b] also asked them this, “What are the names of the men who are building this building?” ⁵ But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them till a report should reach Dari′us and then answer be returned by letter concerning it.

⁶ The copy of the letter which Tat′tenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and She′thar-boz′enai and his associates the governors who were in the province Beyond the River sent to Dari′us the king; ⁷ they sent him a report, in which was written as follows: “To Dari′us 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, ‘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 the men at their head. 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, which a great king of Israel built and finished. ¹² But because our fathers had angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon, the Chalde′an, who destroyed this house and carried away the people to Babylonia. ¹³ 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 And the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnez′zar 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 Shesh-baz′zar, whom he had made governor; ¹⁵ and he said to him, “Take these vessels, go and put them in the temple which is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site.” ¹⁶ Then this Shesh-baz′zar came and laid the foundations of the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and from that time until now it has been in building, and it is not yet finished.’ ¹⁷ Therefore, if it seem good to the king, 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 Dari′us

6 Then Dari′us the king made a decree, and search was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives where the documents were stored. ² And in Ecbat′ana, the capital which is 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 are offered and burnt offerings are brought; its height shall be sixty cubits and its breadth sixty cubits, ⁴ with three courses of great stones and one course of timber; let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. ⁵ And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnez′zar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought back to the temple which is in Jerusalem, each to its place; you shall put them in the house of God.”

⁶ “Now therefore, Tat′tenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, She′thar-boz′enai, and your 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 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—young 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, and pray for the life of the king and his sons. ¹¹ Also I make a decree that if any one alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled upon it, and his house shall be made a dunghill. ¹² May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people that shall put forth a hand to alter this, or to destroy this house of God which is in Jerusalem. I Dari′us make a decree; let it be done with all diligence.”

Completion and Dedication of the Temple

¹³ Then, according to the word sent by Dari′us the king, Tat′tenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, She′thar-boz′enai, and their associates did with all diligence what Dari′us the king had ordered. ¹⁴ And the elders of the Jews built and prospered, through the prophesying of Hag′gai the prophet and Zechari′ah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by command of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Dari′us and Ar-ta-xerx′es king of Persia; ¹⁵ and this house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Dari′us the king.

¹⁶ And the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. ¹⁷ They offered 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 he-goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸ And they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God at Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.

The Passover Celebrated

¹⁹ On the fourteenth day of the first month the returned exiles kept the passover. ²⁰ For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were clean. So they killed 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 also by every one who had joined them and separated himself from the pollutions of the peoples of the land to worship the Lord, the God of Israel. ²² And they kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy; for the Lord had made them joyful, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Fifth Vision: The Lampstand and Olive Trees

4 And the angel who talked with me came again, and waked me, like a man that is wakened out of his sleep. ² And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps which are on the top of it. ³ And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” ⁴ And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵ Then the angel who talked with me answered me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” ⁶ Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerub′babel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. ⁷ What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerub′babel you shall become a plain; and he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” ⁸ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “The hands of Zerub′babel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. ¹⁰ For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerub′babel.

“These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.” ¹¹ Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?” ¹² And a second time I said to him, “What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the oil^[a] is poured out?” ¹³ He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” ¹⁴ Then he said, “These are the two anointed who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

Sixth Vision: The Flying Scroll

5 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying scroll! ² And he said to me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its breadth ten cubits.” ³ Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land; for every one who steals shall be cut off henceforth according to it, and every one who swears falsely shall be cut off henceforth according to it. ⁴ I will send it forth, says the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of him who swears falsely by my name; and it shall abide in his house and consume it, both timber and stones.”

Seventh Vision: The Woman in a Basket

⁵ Then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, “Lift your eyes, and see what this is that goes forth.” ⁶ And I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is the ephah that goes forth.” And he said, “This is their iniquity^[b] in all the land.” ⁷ And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the ephah! ⁸ And he said, “This is Wickedness.” And he thrust her back into the ephah, and thrust down the leaden weight upon its mouth. ⁹ Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! The wind was in their wings; they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between earth and heaven. ¹⁰ Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?” ¹¹ He said to me, “To the land of Shinar, to build a house for it; and when this is prepared, they will set the ephah down there on its base.”

Eighth Vision: Four Chariots

6 And again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of bronze. ² The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, ³ the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled gray^[c] horses. ⁴ Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵ And the angel answered me, “These are going forth to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. ⁶ The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go toward the west country,^[d] and the dappled ones go toward the south country.” ⁷ When the steeds came out, they were impatient to get off and patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. ⁸ Then he cried to me, “Behold, those who go toward the north country have set my Spirit at rest in the north country.”

The Coronation of the Branch

⁹ And the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁰ “Take from the exiles Heldai, Tobi′jah, and Jedai′ah, who have arrived from Babylon; and go the same day to the house of Josi′ah, the son of Zephani′ah. ¹¹ Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown,^[e] and set it upon the head of Joshua, the son of Jeho′zadak, the high priest; ¹² and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall grow up in his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. ¹³ It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord, and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule upon his throne. And there shall be a priest by his throne, and peaceful understanding shall be between them both.”’ ¹⁴ And the crown^[f] shall be in the temple of the Lord as a reminder to Heldai,^[g] Tobi′jah, Jedai′ah, and Josi′ah^[h] the son of Zephani′ah.

¹⁵ “And those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the Lord; and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”