Then King Darius issued a decree, and a ^asearch was made in the ¹archives, where the treasures were deposited in Babylon. 2 And in ¹Ecbatana in the fortress, which is ^ain the province of Media, a scroll was found and there was written in it as follows:

13 Then ^aTattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues carried out the decree with all diligence, just as King Darius had sent. 14 And ^athe elders of the Jews were building and succeeding through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. So they built and completed it according to the decree of the God of Israel and the decree ^bof Cyrus, ^cDarius, and ^dArtaxerxes king of Persia. 15 And this house was brought to completion ¹on the third day of the ^amonth Adar; it was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

16 And the sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites and the rest of the ¹exiles, ^acelebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. 17 They brought near for the dedication of this house of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel ^a12 male goats, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel. 18 Then they appointed the priests to ^atheir sections and the Levites in ^btheir divisions for the service of God ¹in Jerusalem, ^cas it is written in the book of Moses.

19 ^aAnd the exiles celebrated the Passover on ^bthe fourteenth of the first month. 20 ^aFor the priests and the Levites had cleansed themselves together; all of them were clean. Then ^bthey slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, both for their brothers the priests and for themselves. 21 Then the sons of Israel who returned from exile and ^aall those who had separated themselves from ^bthe uncleanness of the nations of the land to join them, to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, ate the Passover. 22 And ^athey celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with gladness, for Yahweh had caused them to be glad and ^bhad turned the heart of ^cthe king of Assyria toward them to ¹strengthen them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Then King Darius issued a decree, and a ^asearch was conducted in the ¹archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. 2 And in ¹Ecbatana, in the fortress which is ^ain the province of Media, a scroll was found; and the following was written in it: “Memorandum— 3 ^aIn the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king issued a decree: ‘Concerning the house of God in Jerusalem, let the ¹temple, the place where sacrifices are offered, be rebuilt, and let ²its foundations be repaired, its height being ³sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, 4 ^awith three layers of large stones and ¹one layer of timber. And the cost is to be paid from the ²royal treasury. 5 Also ^athe gold and silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned and ¹brought to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God.’

6 “Now as for you, ^aTattenai, governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and ¹your colleagues, the officials of the provinces beyond the River, ²stay away from there. 7 Leave that work on the house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild that house of God on its site. 8 Furthermore, ^aI issue a decree concerning what you are to do for these elders of Judah in the rebuilding of that house of God: the full cost is to be paid to those people from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces beyond the Euphrates River, and that without interruption. 9 And whatever is needed, bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine, and anointing oil, as the priests in Jerusalem order, it is to be given to them daily without fail, 10 so that they may offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and ^apray for the lives of the king and his sons. 11 And I issued a decree that ^aany person who violates this decree, a timber shall be pulled out of his house and he shall be impaled on it; and ^bhis house shall be turned into a refuse heap on account of this. 12 May the God who ^ahas caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who ¹attempts to ²change it, so as to destroy that house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree; it is to be carried out with all diligence!”

13 Then ^aTattenai, the governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues carried out the decree with all diligence, just as King Darius had ¹ordered. 14 And ^athe elders of the Jews ¹were successful in building through the prophecy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And ²they finished building following the command of the God of Israel and the decree ^bof Cyrus, ^cDarius, and ^dArtaxerxes king of Persia. 15 Now this ¹temple was completed ²on the third day of the ^amonth Adar; it was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

16 And the sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the ¹exiles, ^acelebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. 17 They offered for the dedication of this temple of God a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel ^atwelve male goats, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel. 18 Then they appointed the priests to ^atheir divisions and the Levites in ^btheir sections for the service of God in Jerusalem, ^cas it is written in the Book of Moses.

19 ^aThe exiles held the Passover on ^bthe fourteenth of the first month. 20 ^aFor the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were pure. Then ^bthey slaughtered the Passover lambs for all the exiles, both for their brothers the priests and for themselves. 21 And the sons of Israel who returned from exile and ^aall those who had separated themselves from ^bthe impurity of the nations of the land to join them, to seek the LORD God of Israel, ate the Passover. 22 And ^athey held the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the LORD had made them happy, and ^bhad turned the heart of ^cthe king of Assyria toward them to ¹encourage them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Then King Darius issued a decree, and a ^asearch was conducted in Babylon in the archives where the treasures and records were stored. 2 In Ecbatana in the fortress (palace) ^ain the province of Media, a scroll was found on which this was recorded: “Memorandum— 3 ^aIn the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king issued a decree: ‘Concerning the house of God in Jerusalem, let the temple (house) , the place where sacrifices are offered, be rebuilt and let its foundations be strongly laid, its height and its width each 60 cubits, 4 ^awith three layers of huge stones and one layer of timbers. Let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. 5 Also let ^athe gold and silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and brought back to their proper places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God.’

6 “Now therefore, ^aTattenai, governor of the province ¹west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai and your associates, the officials who are west of the River, keep far away from there. 7 Leave the work on this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site. 8 Also, ^aI issue a decree as to what you are to do for these Jewish elders for the rebuilding of this house of God: the full cost is to be paid to these people from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces west of the River, and that without delay. 9 Whatever is needed, including young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine, and anointing oil, according to the request of the priests at Jerusalem, let it all be given to them daily without fail, 10 so that they may offer pleasing (sweet-smelling) sacrifices to the God of heaven and ^apray for the life of the king and his sons. 11 I have also issued a decree that if there is ^aany man who violates this edict, a beam of timber shall be pulled from his house and set up; then he shall be impaled on it, and ^bhis house shall be turned into a refuse heap for this violation. 12 May the God who ^ahas caused His ¹Name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who attempts to alter this command, so as to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree; let it be carried out quickly and with due diligence.”

13 Then ^aTattenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, with Shethar-bozenai and their associates carried out the decree with due diligence, just as King Darius had sent and commanded. 14 And ^athe Jewish elders built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building as commanded by the God of Israel and in accordance with the decree ^bof Cyrus and ^cDarius and ^dArtaxerxes king of Persia. 15 This temple was finished on the third day of the ^amonth of Adar, in the ¹sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

16 And all Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the former exiles—^acelebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. 17 They offered at the dedication of this house of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and, as a sin offering for all Israel, ^a12 male goats, according to the number of Israel’s tribes. 18 Then they appointed the priests to ^atheir divisions and the Levites in ^btheir orders for the service of God at Jerusalem, ^cas it is written in the book of Moses.

19 ^aThe former exiles kept the Passover on ^bthe fourteenth day of the first month. 20 ^aFor the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were ceremonially clean. So ^bthey slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their brothers the priests, and for themselves. 21 The Passover was eaten by the sons (descendants) of Israel (Jacob) who returned from exile and by ^aall those who had separated themselves from ^bthe ceremonial uncleanness of the nations of the land to join them, in order to seek the LORD God of Israel. 22 ^aThey observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the LORD had caused them to rejoice and ^bhad turned the heart of ^1cthe king of Assyria toward them, so that he encouraged them and strengthened their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.