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Ezra 6:1-22 — The Decree of Darius; Completion of the Temple

Ezra.6.1-22

¹Consequently , King Darius issued a decree, and a search was made in the archives where the treasures were stored in Babylon. ²And a scroll was found at Achmetha, in the fortress that is in the province of Media, and this was written in it as a record: ³"In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree: Concerning the house of God in Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offer sacrifices, and let its foundations be strongly laid. Its height is to be sixty cubits, and its width sixty cubits, ⁴with three layers of large stones and one layer of new timber. And let the expenses be paid from the royal palace. ⁵Furthermore, let the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and brought back to the temple in Jerusalem, each to its place; you shall deposit them in the house of God." ⁶"Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates the Apharsachites who are Beyond the River, you must stay far away from there. ⁷Leave 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 original site. ⁸Moreover, I issue a decree concerning what you must do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God: The full cost is to be paid promptly to these men from the royal treasury, out of the taxes of the province Beyond the River, so that the work will not be hindered. ⁹Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, as well as wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests in Jerusalem—must be given to them daily without fail, ¹⁰so that they may offer sacrifices of pleasing aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons. ¹¹I also issue a decree that if any man alters this edict, a beam is to be pulled out from his own house, and he is to be lifted up and impaled on it. And for this offense, his house shall be made a pile of rubble. ¹²May the 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 a decree; let it be carried out diligently." ¹³Then Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates diligently carried out exactly what King Darius had decreed. ¹⁴So the elders of the Jews continued building and prospering through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished building according to the decree of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. ¹⁵This house was completed on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. ¹⁶Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. ¹⁷For the dedication of this house of God they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸They also appointed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their groups for the service of God in Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses. ¹⁹On the fourteenth day of the first month, the returned exiles kept the Passover. ²⁰For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were ceremonially clean. And they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves. ²¹It was eaten by the Israelites who had returned from exile, together with all who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to join them in seeking the LORD, the God of Israel. ²²And they kept the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the LORD had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.

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4/11/2026

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