¹Then Darius the king issued a decree, and they searched in the library where they deposit treasures in Babylon. ²And a scroll was found in Ecbatana, in the fortress which is in the province of Media, and this is what was written on it – a memorandum – : ³“In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree. Regarding the house of God in Jerusalem, let the house be built as a place where sacrifices are offered. Now its foundations are load-bearing; its height is sixty cubits and its breadth is sixty cubits, ⁴with three storeys of hewn stone and one storey of wood. And let the expenses be paid from the king's house. ⁵And also, as for the articles of gold and silver of the house of God which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, let them be returned and let them go to the temple in Jerusalem, to their rightful place, and deposit them in the house of God.” ⁶Darius wrote, “So Tatnai, governor of the region on the far side of the river, and Shethar-Bozenai and your associates, the magistrates who are on the far side of the river, stay away from there. ⁷Leave the work on this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and of the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site. ⁸And a decree is hereby issued by me as to what you shall do with these elders of the Jews – regarding the building of this house of God – that from the king's resources which are from the tax on the region on the far side of the river, the expenses of these men shall be rigorously paid and that they are not to be hindered. ⁹And let whatever they need – bull-calves and rams and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine and oil, according to the specification of the priests of Jerusalem – be given to them on a daily basis without fail, ¹⁰so that they may offer sweet fragrances to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. ¹¹And a decree is hereby issued by me that as for any man who changes this pronouncement, the wood be torn out of his house, and let him be vertically affixed to it, and let his house be made a dung heap for this. ¹²And may the God who causes his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who stretches out his hand to change or damage this house of God which is in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued a decree; let it be carried out diligently.” ¹³At this Tatnai the governor of the region on the far side of the river, Shethar-Bozenai, and their associates, pursuant to Darius the king sending this, carried it out diligently. ¹⁴And the elders of the Jews built and made good progress with the prophecy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo being fulfilled, and they built and completed it, by the decree of the God of Israel, and by the decree of Cyrus and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. ¹⁵This house was completed on the third day of the month of Adar, and it was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. ¹⁶And the sons of Israel – the priests and the Levites and the rest of the deportees – celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. ¹⁷And for the dedication of this house of God they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve he-goats, to offer as a sin-offering for all Israel – for the number of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸And the priests were appointed in their sections, and Levites in their divisions, for God's work in Jerusalem, according to the stipulation in the book of Moses. ¹⁹And the deportees celebrated the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. ²⁰So the priests and the Levites purified themselves as a unity – all of them were pure, and they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the deportees and for their brothers the priests and for themselves. ²¹And the sons of Israel who had returned from the deportation ate, as did all who had set themselves aside from the uncleanness of the nations of the earth and had come to them, in seeking the Lord God of Israel. ²²And they celebrated the Festival of the Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the Lord had given them joy, and he had turned the heart of the king of Assyria towards them, in empowering them in the work of the house of God – the God of Israel.