Ezra, Chapter 6:

Verses from Ezra, Chapter 6 of the book of Ezra in the Bible.

Ezra - Old Testament — Ezra – Old Testament

Darius' decree

1. King Darius ordered a search to be made in the Babylonian archives, where the treasures were kept.
2. A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana, in the province of Media, and on it was written the following, which Darius communicated:
3. “In the first year of his reign, King Cyrus issued a decree regarding the temple of God in Jerusalem, in the following terms:
4. “Let the temple be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices, and let the foundations be laid. It will be twenty-seven meters high and twenty-seven meters wide,
5. with three layers of large stones and a layer of wood. The expenses will be covered by the king's treasuries.
6. “The gold and silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and taken to Babylon, must be returned and placed in the temple in Jerusalem, in their proper place. Hand them over to the God of Jerusalem.”
7. Now therefore, Tatenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates, Shetar-Bozenai and their companions, the officers of the province west of the Euphrates, keep away.
8. Let the governor and the leaders of the Jews rebuild the temple of God in its former location. The expenses of these men will be paid in full from the king's treasuries, coming from the tribute of the province west of the Euphrates, so that the work will not be interrupted.
9. Furthermore, whatever is needed: bulls, rams and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine and oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem, all of these must be provided daily without fail,
10. that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the lives of the king and his sons.
11. “Furthermore, I decree that if anyone changes this decree, he is to take a beam from his own house and impale him on it. And your house will be turned into a pile of rubble.
12. May the God who caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who reach out to change this decree or to destroy the temple in Jerusalem. I, Dario, establish it. May it be fully fulfilled.”

The consecration of the temple

13. Having received the decree from King Darius, Tatenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates, Shetar-Bozenai and his companions faithfully executed it.
14. So the leaders of the Jews continued to build and prosper, encouraged by the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They completed the reconstruction of the temple according to the order of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.
15. The temple was completed on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of King Darius' reign.
16. Then the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles celebrated with joy the dedication of the temple of God.
17. For the dedication of the temple of God, they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and, as a sin offering for all Israel, twelve goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.
18. They organized the priests into their divisions and the Levites into their groups for the service of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.

Easter celebration

19. On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated Easter.
20. The priests and the Levites purified themselves and were ceremonially clean. The Levites sacrificed the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves.
21. Then the Israelites who had returned from exile ate the Passover, together with all those who had separated themselves from the impurities of the pagan peoples of the land to worship the Lord, the God of Israel.
22. They celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread with joy for seven days, for the Lord had filled them with joy by turning the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen them in the work1King Darius ordered that research be carried out in the archives of Babylon, where the treasures were stored.