Historical

King Darius’s Reply to Tattenai

6 King Darius gave an order. He had a search made in the official records stored among the treasures at Babylon. ² A book was found in a safe storeroom at Ecbatana in the land of Media. Here is what was written on it.

This is my official reply to your letter.

³ In the first year that Cyrus was king, he gave an order. It concerned God’s temple in Jerusalem. King Cyrus said,

Rebuild the temple. Then the Jews can offer sacrifices there. Lay its foundations. The temple must be 90 feet high and 90 feet wide. ⁴ Its walls must have three layers of large stones. They must also have a layer of beautiful wood. Use money from the royal treasures to pay for everything. ⁵ The gold and silver objects from the house of God must be returned. Nebuchadnezzar had taken them from the first temple in Jerusalem. And he had brought them to Babylon. Now they must be returned to their places in the temple at Jerusalem. They must be put in the house of God there.

⁶ Tattenai, you are governor of the land west of the Euphrates River. I want you to stay away from the temple in Jerusalem. I also want you, Shethar-Bozenai, and you other officials of that area to stay away from it. ⁷ Don’t try to stop the work on the temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and their elders rebuild the house of their God. Let them build it in the same place where it stood before.

⁸ Here is what I want you to do for the elders of the Jews. Here is how you must help them to build the house of their God.

Pay all their expenses from the royal treasures. Use the money you collect from the people who live west of the Euphrates. Don’t let the work on the temple stop. ⁹ Don’t fail to give the priests in Jerusalem what they ask for each day. Give them what they need. Give them young bulls, rams and male lambs. The priests can use them to sacrifice burnt offerings to the God of heaven. Also give them wheat, salt, wine and olive oil. ¹⁰ Give them those things so they can offer sacrifices that please the God of heaven. And I want them to pray that things will go well for me and my sons.

¹¹ Don’t change this order. If anyone tries to change it, they must be put to death. A pole must be pulled from their house. The pole must be stuck through their body. Because that person tried to change my royal order, their house must be broken to pieces. ¹² God has chosen to put his Name in the temple at Jerusalem. May he wipe out any king or nation that lifts a hand to change this order. May he also wipe out anyone who tries to destroy the temple in Jerusalem.

That’s what I have ordered. I am King Darius. Make sure you carry out my order.

The Temple Is Completed and Set Apart to God

¹³ The governor Tattenai and Shethar-Bozenai carried out King Darius’s order. And so did their friends. ¹⁴ The elders of the Jews continued to build the temple. They enjoyed great success because of the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah, the prophets. Zechariah belonged to the family line of Iddo. The people finished building the temple. That’s what the God of Israel had commanded them to do. Cyrus and Darius had given orders allowing them to do it. Later, Artaxerxes supplied many things that were needed in the temple. Those three men were kings of Persia. ¹⁵ So the temple was completed on the third day of the month of Adar. It was in the sixth year that Darius was king.

¹⁶ When the house of God was set apart, the people of Israel celebrated with joy. The priests and Levites joined them. So did the rest of those who had returned from the land of Babylon. ¹⁷ When the house of God was set apart to him, the people sacrificed 100 bulls. They also sacrificed 200 rams and 400 male lambs. As a sin offering for the whole nation of Israel, the people sacrificed 12 male goats. One goat was sacrificed for each tribe in Israel. ¹⁸ The priests were appointed to their groups. And the Levites were appointed to their groups. All of them served God at Jerusalem. They served him in keeping with what is written in the Book of Moses.

The People Celebrate the Passover Feast

¹⁹ The people who had returned from the land of Babylon celebrated the Passover Feast. It was on the 14th day of the first month. ²⁰ The priests and Levites had made themselves pure and “clean.” The Levites killed Passover lambs for the people who had returned from Babylon. They also did it for themselves and their relatives, the priests. ²¹ So the Israelites who had returned ate the Passover lamb. They ate it together with all those who had separated themselves from the practices of their Gentile neighbors. Those practices were “unclean.” The people worshiped the Lord. He is the God of Israel. ²² For seven days they celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread with joy. That’s because the Lord had filled them with joy. They were glad because he had changed the mind of the king of Persia. So the king had helped them with the work on the house of the God of Israel.

Ezra Comes to Jerusalem

7 After all these things had happened, Ezra came up to Jerusalem from Babylon. It was during the rule of Artaxerxes. He was king of Persia. Ezra was the son of Seraiah. Seraiah was the son of Azariah. Azariah was the son of Hilkiah. ² Hilkiah was the son of Shallum. Shallum was the son of Zadok. Zadok was the son of Ahitub. ³ Ahitub was the son of Amariah. Amariah was the son of Azariah. Azariah was the son of Meraioth. ⁴ Meraioth was the son of Zerahiah. Zerahiah was the son of Uzzi. Uzzi was the son of Bukki. ⁵ Bukki was the son of Abishua. Abishua was the son of Phinehas. Phinehas was the son of Eleazar. And Eleazar was the son of Aaron the chief priest. ⁶ So Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher who knew the Law of Moses very well. The Lord, the God of Israel, had given Israel that law. The king had given Ezra everything he asked for. That’s because the Lord his God helped him. ⁷ Some of the Israelites came up to Jerusalem too. They included priests, Levites and musicians. They also included the temple servants and those who guarded the temple gates. It was in the seventh year that Artaxerxes was king.

⁸ Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king’s rule. ⁹ Ezra had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month. He arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month. That’s because God was gracious to him and helped him. ¹⁰ Ezra had committed himself to study and obey the Law of the Lord. He also wanted to teach the Lord’s rules and laws in Israel.

King Artaxerxes’s Letter to Ezra

¹¹ Ezra was a priest and teacher of the Law. He was an educated man. He knew the Lord’s commands and rules for Israel very well. Here is a copy of a letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra. It said,

¹² I, Artaxerxes, am writing this letter. I am the greatest king of all.

I have given it to Ezra the priest. He is the teacher of the Law of the God of heaven.

I give you my greetings.

¹³ Ezra, I am giving an order about the Israelites in my kingdom. Any of them who want to go to Jerusalem with you may go. The order also allows priests and Levites to go with you. ¹⁴ I and my seven advisers are sending you to see how things are going in Judah and Jerusalem. Find out whether the people there are obeying the Law of your God. You have a copy of that law with you. ¹⁵ I and my advisers have freely given some silver and gold to the God of Israel. He is the God who lives in Jerusalem. Take that silver and gold with you. ¹⁶ Also take any other silver and gold you can get from the land of Babylon. And take the offerings the people and priests choose to give for the temple of their God in Jerusalem. ¹⁷ Make sure you use the money to buy bulls, rams and male lambs. Also buy their grain offerings and drink offerings. Then sacrifice them on the altar of the temple of your God in Jerusalem.

¹⁸ You and the other Jews can do what you think is best with the rest of the silver and gold. Do what your God wants you to do. ¹⁹ Give to the God of Jerusalem all the things you are responsible for. Use them for worshiping your God in his temple. ²⁰ You might need to supply some other things for the temple of your God. If you do, take them from among the royal treasures.

²¹ I, King Artaxerxes, also give this order. It applies to all those who are in charge of the treasures west of the Euphrates River. Make sure you provide anything Ezra the priest might ask you to give. He is the teacher of the Law of the God of heaven. ²² Give Ezra up to three and three-fourths tons of silver. Give him up to 18 tons of wheat. Give him up to 600 gallons of wine and up to 600 gallons of olive oil. And give him as much salt as he needs. ²³ Work hard for the temple of the God of heaven. Do everything he has required. I don’t want him to be angry with my kingdom and the kingdom of my sons. ²⁴ Here is something else I want you to know. You have no authority to collect taxes, gifts or fees from these people. You may not collect them from the priests, Levites or musicians. You may not collect them from those who guard the temple gates. You may not collect them from the temple servants. And you may not collect them from other workers at the house of God in Jerusalem.

²⁵ Ezra, appoint judges and other court officials. When you do it, use the wisdom your God gives you. Those you appoint should do what is right and fair when they judge people. They should do it for everyone who lives west of the Euphrates River. They should do it for everyone who knows the laws of your God. And I want you to teach the people who don’t know those laws. ²⁶ Anyone who doesn’t obey the law of your God must be punished. The same thing applies to anyone who doesn’t obey my law. The people must be punished in keeping with the laws they have broken. Some of them must be put to death. Others must be forced to leave the places where they live. Others must have their property taken away from them. Still others must be put in prison.

²⁷ So here is what I, Ezra, say to you people of Israel. “Give praise to the Lord. He is the God of our people who lived long ago. He has put it in the king’s heart to bring honor to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem. The king has honored the Lord in his letter. ²⁸ The Lord has been kind to me. He has caused the king and his advisers to be kind to me. In fact, all the king’s powerful officials have been kind to me. The strong hand of the Lord my God helped me. That gave me new strength. So I gathered together leaders from Israel to go up to Jerusalem with me.”