The Decree of Darius 1 ULT Then Darius the king set a decree and they searched in the house of the books where the treasures had been deposited there in Babylon. BSB BSB: Thus King Darius ordered a search of the archives stored in the treasury of Babylon.
2 ULT And one scroll was found in the fortress at Ecbatana that is in the province of Media, and the record was written within it thusly: BSB BSB: And a scroll was found in the fortress of Ecbatana, in the province of Media, with the following written on it: Memorandum:
3 ULT “In year one of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king set a decree about the house of God in Jerusalem:‘Let the house be built, a place where sacrifices are sacrificed, and let its foundations be raised. Its height will be 60 cubits. Its width will be 60 cubits, BSB BSB: In the first year of King Cyrus, he issued a decree concerning the house of God in Jerusalem: Let the house be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices, and let its foundations be firmly laid. It is to be sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide,
4 ULT with three layers of large stone and a layer of new timber. And let the cost be given from the house of the king. BSB BSB: with three layers of cut stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid from the royal treasury.
5 ULT And also, the vessels of the house of God, of gold and silver, that Nebuchadnezzar had taken out from the temple that was in Jerusalem and had brought to Babylon, must be returned. And let each go to the temple that is in Jerusalem, to its place. So you must put them in the house of God.’” BSB BSB: Furthermore, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, must also be returned to the temple in Jerusalem and deposited in the house of God.
6 ULT “Now Tattenai, the governor of Beyond- the- River, Shethar- Bozenai, and their companions, the officials who are in Beyond- the- River: be far away from there. BSB BSB: Therefore Darius decreed: To Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates and officials in the region: You must stay away from that place!
7 ULT Leave alone the work of that house of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build that house of God on its place. BSB BSB: Leave this work on the house of God alone. Let the governor and elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its original site.
8 ULT And from me is set a decree for what it is that you shall do with these elders of the Jews to build that house of God. And from the treasures of the king(that is, the tribute of Beyond- the- River) let the expense be given to those men diligently, so that it does not stop. BSB BSB: I hereby decree what you must do for these elders of the Jews who are rebuilding this house of God: The cost is to be paid in full to these men from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces west of the Euphrates, so that the work will not be hindered.
9 ULT And whatever is needed(whether sons of bulls, or rams, or lambs for burnt up offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, according to the command of the priests who are in Jerusalem), let it be given to them day by day(that is, without neglect), BSB BSB: Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, as well as wheat, salt, wine, and oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem—must be given to them daily without fail.
10 ULT so that they may be offering sweet- smelling sacrifices to the God of heaven and praying for the life of the king and his sons. BSB BSB: Then they will be able to offer sacrifices of a sweet aroma to the God of heaven and to pray for the lives of the king and his sons.
11 ULT And from me is set a decree that, for any man who changes this edict, a beam shall be pulled from his house, and, being erect, he shall be impaled on it. And his house shall be made a rubbish heap on account of this. BSB BSB: I also decree that if any man interferes with this directive, a beam is to be torn from his house and raised up, and he is to be impaled on it. And his own house shall be made a pile of rubble for this offense.
12 ULT And may the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who stretches out his hand to change, to destroy that house of God which is in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have set a decree. Let it be done diligently.” BSB BSB: May God, who has caused His Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to alter this decree or to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued the decree. Let it be carried out with diligence.
The Temple Completed 13 ULT Then Tattenai, the governor of Beyond- the- River, Shethar- Bozenai, and their companions did thus diligently, according to what Darius the king had sent. BSB BSB: In response, Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates diligently carried out what King Darius had decreed.
14 ULT And the elders of the Jews were building and prospering by the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and completed by the decree of the God of Israel and by the decree of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes, the king of Persia. BSB BSB: So the Jewish elders built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.
15 ULT And this house was done by day three of the month of Adar, which was year six of the reign of Darius the king. BSB BSB: And this temple was completed on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
Dedication of the Temple 16 ULT And the sons of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the sons of the exile performed the dedication of this house of God with joy. BSB BSB: Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy.
17 ULT And they offered for the dedication of this house of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and 12 bucks of goats for a sin offering for all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. BSB BSB: For the dedication of the house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and a sin offering for all Israel of twelve male goats, one for each tribe of Israel.
18 ULT And they caused the priests to stand in their divisions, and the Levites in their sections, for the service of the God who is in Jerusalem, according to the writing of the book of Moses. BSB BSB: They also appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their groups to the service of God in Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.
The Returned Exiles Keep the Passover 19 ULT So the sons of the exile made the Passover on day 14 of the first month. BSB BSB: On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles kept the Passover.
20 ULT For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves as one, all of them were pure. And they slaughtered the Passover for all the sons of the exile, and for their brothers, the priests, and for themselves. BSB BSB: All the priests and Levites had purified themselves and were ceremonially clean. And the Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their priestly brothers, and for themselves.
21 ULT And the sons of Israel ate, the ones who had returned from the exile and every one who separated himself to them from the uncleanness of the nations of the land in order to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel. BSB BSB: The Israelites who had returned from exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to seek the LORD, the God of Israel.
22 ULT Then they made the Festival of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, because Yahweh had caused them to be joyful, and had caused the heart of the king of Assyria to turn toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. BSB BSB: For seven days they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread with joy, because the LORD had made them joyful and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to strengthen their hands in the work on the house of the God of Israel.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.