| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1Then King Darius issued an order to search the Hall of Records where the Babylonian archives were stored. | 1So Darius the king issued orders, and they searched in the archives of the treasury which were deposited there in Babylon. |
| 2The following was found written on a scroll in Ecbatana at the summer palace of the province of Media: | 2A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana which is in the province of Media, and it was inscribed as follows: "Memorandum: |
| 3DATE: First year of Cyrus the King FROM: King Cyrus SUBJECT: The Temple of God in Jerusalem Let the Temple be rebuilt where they offered sacrifices. Let the foundations thereof be laid with a height of 60 cubits and a width of 60 cubits, | 3In the first year of his reign, King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: 'Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place. Its height is to be ninety feet and its width ninety feet, |
| 4constructed with three layers of foundation stone interlaced with a row of new timber, the expenses for which are to be paid from the king's treasury. | 4with three layers of large stones and one layer of timber. The expense is to be subsidized by the royal treasury. |
| 5Furthermore, let the gold and silver utensils from the Temple of God (that Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple in Jerusalem and carried off to Babylon) be brought back to the Temple at Jerusalem and restored to their respective places in the Temple of God. | 5Furthermore let the gold and silver vessels of the temple of God, which Nebuchadnezzar brought from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, be returned and brought to their proper place in the temple in Jerusalem. Let them be deposited in the temple of God.' |
| 6To: Tattenai, Trans-Euphrates Governor, Shethar-bozenai, and your colleagues living beyond the Euphrates River. Stay away from there! | 6"Now Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar Bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials of Trans-Euphrates--all of you stay far away from there! |
| 7Leave the work on this Temple of God alone! Let the Jewish governor and the Jewish leaders build this Temple of God on its site. | 7Leave the work on this temple of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this temple of God in its proper place. |
| 8Furthermore, I hereby decree what you are to do for the Jewish leaders who are building this Temple of God: you are to pay the expenses of these men out of the king's assets from taxes collected beyond the River so that they are not hindered. | 8"I also hereby issue orders as to what you are to do with those elders of the Jews in order to rebuild this temple of God. From the royal treasury, from the taxes of Trans-Euphrates the complete costs are to be given to these men, so that there may be no interruption of the work. |
| 9And be sure that you don't fail to provide their daily needs—including young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of Heaven, along with wheat, salt, wine, and oil, as the priests in Jerusalem tell you— | 9Whatever is needed--whether oxen or rams or lambs or burnt offerings for the God of heaven or wheat or salt or wine or oil, as required by the priests who are in Jerusalem--must be given to them daily without any neglect, |
| 10so they may approach the God of Heaven with fragrant sacrifices and pray for the life of this king and his sons. | 10so that they may be offering incense to the God of heaven and may be praying for the good fortune of the king and his family. |
| 11I hereby also decree that whoever shall alter the wording of this edict, let his residence be torn down for timber to build a gallows, hang him on it, and turn his home into an outhouse. | 11"I hereby give orders that if anyone changes this directive a beam is to be pulled out from his house and he is to be raised up and impaled on it, and his house is to be reduced to a rubbish heap for this indiscretion. |
| 12And may the God who causes his Name to rest there destroy any king or people who might attempt to destroy this Temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree. Let it be carried out quickly. | 12May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation who reaches out to cause such change so as to destroy this temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have given orders. Let them be carried out with precision!" |
| 13Because of what King Darius had mandated, Tattenai, the Trans-Euphrates Governor, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues carried out his orders quickly. | 13Then Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues acted accordingly--with precision, just as Darius the king had given instructions. |
| 14And so the Jewish leaders continued their building, and prospered because of the prophecies of Haggai the prophet and Iddo's son Zechariah. They completed the rebuilding in accordance with the commandment from the God of Israel and the edicts of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, king of Persia. | 14The elders of the Jews continued building and prospering, while at the same time Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo continued prophesying. They built and brought it to completion by the command of the God of Israel and by the command of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia. |
| 15The Temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar during the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. | 15They finished this temple on the third day of the month Adar, which is the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. |
| 16The Israelis—the priests, the descendants of Levi, and the other related descendants who had returned from captivity—celebrated with joy at the dedication of the Temple of God. | 16The people of Israel--the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles--observed the dedication of this temple of God with joy. |
| 17At the dedication offering of the Temple of God, they presented 100 bulls, 200 rams, and 400 lambs, along with a sin offering of twelve male goats for the entire nation of Israel according to the number of the tribes of Israel. | 17For the dedication of this temple of God they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve male goats for the sin of all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. |
| 18Furthermore, they established the priests in their divisions and the descendants of Levi in their positions for the service of God conducted at Jerusalem, as is proscribed in the Book of Moses. | 18They appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their divisions over the worship of God at Jerusalem, in accord with the book of Moses. |
| 19 The former exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month | 19The exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. |
| 20because the priests and descendants of Levi had purified themselves together—all of them were pure—and they killed the Passover lamb for every former exile, for their relatives the priests, and for themselves. | 20The priests and the Levites had purified themselves, every last one, and they all were ceremonially pure. They sacrificed the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their colleagues the priests, and for themselves. |
| 21So the Israelis who had returned from captivity ate the Passover with all who had consecrated themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land in order to seek the LORD God of Israel. | 21The Israelites who were returning from the exile ate it, along with all those who had joined them in separating themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to seek the LORD God of Israel. |
| 22Then they observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the LORD had made them glad, turning the heart of the king of Assyria toward them and strengthening them for their work on the Temple of God, the God of Israel. | 22They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the LORD had given them joy and had changed the opinion of the king of Assyria toward them, so that he assisted them in the work on the temple of God, the God of Israel. |
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