“Now if the king is so inclined, let a search be conducted in the royal archives there in Babylon in order to determine whether King Cyrus did in fact issue orders for this temple of God to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us a decision concerning this matter.”
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11They responded to us in the following way:‘We are servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the temple which was previously built many years ago. A great king of Israel built it and completed it.
12But after our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he delivered them into the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and exiled the people to Babylon.
13But in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon, King Cyrus enacted a decree to rebuild this temple of God.
14Even the gold and silver vessels of the temple of God that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and had brought to the palace of Babylon– even those things King Cyrus brought from the palace of Babylon and presented to a man by the name of Sheshbazzar whom he had appointed as governor.
15He said to him,“Take these vessels and go deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt in its proper location.”
16Then this Sheshbazzar went and laid the foundations of the temple of God in Jerusalem. From that time to the present moment it has been in the process of being rebuilt, although it is not yet finished.’
3In the first year of his reign, King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem:‘Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place. Its height is to be ninety feet and its width ninety feet,
4with three layers of large stones and one layer of timber. The expense is to be subsidized by the royal treasury.
5Furthermore let the gold and silver vessels of the temple of God, which Nebuchadnezzar brought from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, be returned and brought to their proper place in the temple in Jerusalem. Let them be deposited in the temple of God.’
6“Now Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials of Trans-Euphrates– all of you stay far away from there!
7Leave the work on this temple of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this temple of God in its proper place.
8“I also hereby issue orders as to what you are to do with those elders of the Jews in order to rebuild this temple of God. From the royal treasury, from the taxes of Trans-Euphrates the complete costs are to be given to these men, so that there may be no interruption of the work.
8Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great God. It is being built with large stones, and timbers are being placed in the walls. This work is being done with all diligence and is prospering in their hands.
9We inquired of those elders, asking them,‘Who gave you the authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?’
3At that time Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues came to them and asked,“Who gave you authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?”
4They also asked them,“What are the names of the men who are building this edifice?”
5But God was watching over the elders of Judah, and they were not stopped until a report could be dispatched to Darius and a letter could be sent back concerning this.
6This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and his colleagues who were the officials of Trans-Euphrates sent to King Darius.
22Cyrus Allows the Exiles to Go Home In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in fulfillment of the LORD’s message spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD motivated King Cyrus of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his kingdom and also to put it in writing. It read:
23“This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:‘The LORD God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Anyone of his people among you may go up there and may the LORD his God be with him!”
1¶ The Decree of Cyrus In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in fulfillment of the LORD’s message spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD motivated King Cyrus of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his kingdom and also to put it in writing. It read:
2“This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:“‘The LORD God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
3Anyone of his people among you(may his God be with him!) may go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may build the temple of the LORD God of Israel– he is the God who is in Jerusalem.
4Anyone who survives in any of those places where he is a resident foreigner must be helped by his neighbors with silver, gold, equipment, and animals, along with voluntary offerings for the temple of God which is in Jerusalem.’”
5The Exiles Prepare to Return to Jerusalem Then the leaders of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and the Levites– all those whose mind God had stirred– got ready to go up in order to build the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem.
19Deliver to the God of Jerusalem the vessels that are given to you for the service of the temple of your God.
20The rest of the needs for the temple of your God that you may have to supply, you may do so from the royal treasury.
21“I, King Artaxerxes, hereby issue orders to all the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates, that you precisely execute all that Ezra the priestly scribe of the law of the God of heaven may request of you–
7Then King Cyrus brought out the vessels of the LORD’s temple which Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem and had displayed in the temple of his gods.
8King Cyrus of Persia entrusted them to Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the leader of the Judahite exiles.
5and said to the king,“If the king is so inclined and if your servant has found favor in your sight, dispatch me to Judah, to the city with the graves of my ancestors, so that I can rebuild it.”
1Darius Issues a Decree So Darius the king issued orders, and they searched in the archives of the treasury which were deposited there in Babylon.
12May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation who reaches out to cause such change so as to destroy this temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have given orders. Let them be carried out with precision!”
1Opposition to the Building Efforts When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin learned that the former exiles were building a temple for the LORD God of Israel,
2they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders and said to them,“Let us help you build, for like you we seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him from the time of King Esarhaddon of Assyria, who brought us here.”
3But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them,“You have no right to help us build the temple of our God. We will build it by ourselves for the LORD God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.”
14You are authorized by the king and his seven advisers to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your possession,
15and to bring silver and gold which the king and his advisers have freely contributed to the God of Israel, who resides in Jerusalem,
27Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, who so moved in the heart of the king to so honor the temple of the LORD which is in Jerusalem!
14The elders of the Jews continued building and prospering, while at the same time Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo continued prophesying. They built and brought it to completion by the command of the God of Israel and by the command of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
15They finished this temple on the third day of the month Adar, which is the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
15so that he may initiate a search of the records of his predecessors and discover in those records that this city is rebellious and injurious to both kings and provinces, producing internal revolts from long ago. It is for this very reason that this city was destroyed.
16We therefore are informing the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, you will not retain control of this portion of Trans-Euphrates.”
23Everything that the God of heaven has required should be precisely done for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should there be wrath against the empire of the king and his sons?
7I said to the king,“If the king is so inclined, let him give me letters for the governors of Trans-Euphrates that will enable me to travel safely until I reach Judah,
5Have them hand it over to the construction foremen assigned to the LORD’s temple. They in turn should pay the temple workers to repair it,
6including craftsmen, builders, and masons, and should buy wood and chiseled stone for the repair work.
21Now give orders that these men cease their work and that this city not be rebuilt until such time as I so instruct.