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Ezra 6
1599 Geneva Bible
Ezra 6
1599 Geneva Bible
6 At the commandment of Darius king of Persia, after the Temple was built and dedicated, the children of Israel keep the feast of unleavened bread.
1 Then king Darius gave commandment, and they made search in the [a]library of the treasures, which were there laid up in Babel.
2 And there was found in a [b]coffer (in the palace that was in the province of the Medes) a volume, and therein was it thus written, as a memorial,
3 IN THE FIRST year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus made a decree for the house of God in Jerusalem, Let the house be built, even the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the walls thereof be joined together: let the height thereof be threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits,
4 Three [c]orders of [d]great stones, and one order of timber, and let the expenses be given of the king’s house.
5 And also let them render the vessels of the house of God (of gold and silver, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the Temple, which was in Jerusalem, and brought unto Babel) and let [e]him go unto the Temple that is in Jerusalem to his place, and put them in the house of God.
6 Therefore Tattenai captain beyond the river, and Shethar-Boznai, (and their companions Apharsecai, which are beyond the River) be ye far [f]from thence.
7 Suffer ye the work of this house of God, that the captain of the Jews and the Elders of the Jews may build this house of God in his place.
8 For I have given a commandment what ye shall do to the Elders of these Jews, for the building of this house of God, that of the revenues of the King, which is of the tribute beyond the River, there be incontinently expenses given unto these men that they [g]cease not.
9 And that which they shall have need of, let it be given unto them day by day, whether it be young bullocks, or rams, or lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the Priests that are in Jerusalem, that there be no fault,
10 That they may have to offer sweet odors unto the God of heaven, and pray for the king’s life, and for his sons.
11 And I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this sentence, the wood shall be pulled down from his house, and shall be set up, and he shall be hanged thereon, and his house shall be made a dunghill for this.
12 And the God that hath caused his Name [h]to dwell there, destroy all kings and people that put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God, which is in Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree, let it be done with speed.
13 ¶ Then Tattenai the Captain beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai and their companions, according to that which Darius had sent, so they did speedily.
14 So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered by the prophesying of [i]Haggai the Prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, and they built and finished it, by the appointment of the God of Israel, and by the commandment of Cyrus and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
15 And this house was finished the third day of the month [j]Adar, which was [k]the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
16 ¶ And the children of Israel, the Priests, and the Levites, and the residue of the children of the captivity kept the dedication of this house of God with joy,
17 And offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve goats, for the sin of all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.
18 And they set the Priests in their order, and the Levites in their courses over the service of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the (A)book of Moses.
19 And the children of the captivity kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.
20 (For the Priests and the Levites were purified altogether) and they killed the Passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the Priests, and for themselves.
21 So the children of Israel which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had [l]separated themselves unto them, from the filthiness of the Heathen of the land to seek the Lord God of Israel, did eat,
22 And they kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the Lord had made them glad, and turned the heart of the king of [m]Assyria unto them, to [n]encourage them in the work of the house of God, even the God of Israel.
Footnotes
- Ezra 6:1 Hebrew, house of books.
- Ezra 6:2 Wherein were the acts of the kings of the Medes and Persians.
- Ezra 6:4 Or, rows, or courses.
- Ezra 6:4 Or, Marble.
- Ezra 6:5 Meaning, Zerubbabel to whom he giveth charge.
- Ezra 6:6 Meddle not with them neither hinder them.
- Ezra 6:8 For lack of money.
- Ezra 6:12 Who hath appointed that place to have his Name called upon there.
- Ezra 6:14 Whom God stirs up to assure them that he would give their work good success.
- Ezra 6:15 This is the twelfth month and containeth part of February and part of March.
- Ezra 6:15 And the two and fortieth year after their first return.
- Ezra 6:21 Which were of the heathen, and forsaked their idolatry to worship the true God.
- Ezra 6:22 Meaning, Darius who was king of the Medes, Persians, and Assyrians.
- Ezra 6:22 Hebrew, to strengthen their hands.
Ezra 6
New International Version
Ezra 6
New International Version
The Decree of Darius
6 King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives(A) stored in the treasury at Babylon. 2 A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it:
Memorandum:
3 In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem:
Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid.(B) It is to be sixty cubits[a] high and sixty cubits wide, 4 with three courses(C) of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury.(D) 5 Also, the gold(E) and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; they are to be deposited in the house of God.(F)
6 Now then, Tattenai,(G) governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai(H) and you other officials of that province, stay away from there. 7 Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site.
8 Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God:
Their expenses are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury,(I) from the revenues(J) of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop. 9 Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt offerings(K) to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and olive oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem—must be given them daily without fail, 10 so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons.(L)
11 Furthermore, I decree that if anyone defies this edict, a beam is to be pulled from their house and they are to be impaled(M) on it. And for this crime their house is to be made a pile of rubble.(N) 12 May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there,(O) overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem.
I Darius(P) have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence.
Completion and Dedication of the Temple
13 Then, because of the decree King Darius had sent, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates(Q) carried it out with diligence. 14 So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching(R) of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus,(S) Darius(T) and Artaxerxes,(U) kings of Persia. 15 The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.(V)
16 Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication(W) of the house of God with joy. 17 For the dedication of this house of God they offered(X) a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred male lambs and, as a sin offering[b] for all Israel, twelve male goats, one for each of the tribes of Israel. 18 And they installed the priests in their divisions(Y) and the Levites in their groups(Z) for the service of God at Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.(AA)
The Passover
19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover.(AB) 20 The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered(AC) the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their relatives the priests and for themselves. 21 So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves(AD) from the unclean practices(AE) of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the Lord,(AF) the God of Israel. 22 For seven days they celebrated with joy the Festival of Unleavened Bread,(AG) because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude(AH) of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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