The Decree of Darius
1 Then King Darius issued a decree,and a search was made in the archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon.
2 And at Achmetha, in the palace thatisin the province ofMedia, a scroll was found, and in it a recordwaswritten thus:
3 In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued adecreeconcerningthe house of God at Jerusalem: “Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubitsandits width sixty cubits,
4 withthree rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let theexpenses be paid from the king’s treasury.
5 Also letthe gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple whichisin Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple whichisin Jerusalem,eachto its place; and depositthemin the house of God”—
6 Nowtherefore,Tattenai, governor oftheregionbeyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and your companions the Persians whoarebeyond the River, keep yourselves far from there.
7 Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site.
8 Moreover I issue a decreeastowhat you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the building of this house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king’s expense from taxesontheregionbeyond the River; this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered.
9 And whatever they need—young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests whoarein Jerusalem—let it be given them day by day without fail,
10 that they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons.
11 Also I issue a decree that whoever alters this edict, let a timber be pulled from his house and erected, and let him be hanged on it;and let his house be made a refuse heap because of this.
12 And may the God who causes Hisname to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this house of God which is in Jerusalem. I Darius issue a decree; let it be done diligently.
The Temple Completed and Dedicated
13 Then Tattenai, governor oftheregionbeyond the River, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions diligently did according to what King Darius had sent.
14 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 finishedit,according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command ofCyrus,Darius, andArtaxerxes 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, celebratedthe dedication of this house of God with joy.
17 And theyoffered 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 theirdivisions and the Levites to theirdivisions, over the service of God in Jerusalem,as it is written in the Book of Moses.
The Passover Celebrated
19 And the descendants of the captivity kept the Passoveron the fourteenthdayof the first month.
20 For the priests and the Levites hadpurified themselves; all of themwererituallyclean. And theyslaughtered the Passoverlambsfor 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 thefilth of the nations of the land in order to seek theLordGod of Israel.
22 And they kept theFeast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for theLordmade them joyful, andturned the heartof the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.