Ezra:5-6
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Now the prophets ,
Haggai and Zechari '
ah the son of Iddo ,
prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem ,
in the name of the God of Israel who was over them .
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Then Zerub '
babel the son of She-al '
ti-el and Jeshua the son of Jo '
zadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem ;
and with them were the prophets of God ,
helping them .
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At the same time Tat '
tenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and She '
thar-boz '
enai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus , "
Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure ?"
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They also asked them this , "
What are the names of the men who are building this building ?"
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But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews ,
and they did not stop them till a report should reach Darius and then answer be returned by letter concerning it .
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The copy of the letter which Tat '
tenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and She '
thar-boz '
enai and his associates the governors who were in the province Beyond the River sent to Darius the king ;
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they sent him a report ,
in which was written as follows : "
To Darius the king ,
all peace .
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Be it known to the king that we went to the province of Judah ,
to the house of the great God .
It is being built with huge stones ,
and timber is laid in the walls ;
this work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands .
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Then we asked those elders and spoke to them thus , `
Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure ?'
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We also asked them their names ,
for your information ,
that we might write down the names of the men at their head .
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And this was their reply to us : `
We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth ,
and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago ,
which a great king of Israel built and finished .
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But because our fathers had angered the God of heaven ,
he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnez '
zar king of Babylon ,
the Chalde '
an ,
who destroyed this house and carried away the people to Babylonia .
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However in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon ,
Cyrus the king made a decree that this house of God should be rebuilt .
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And the gold and silver vessels of the house of God ,
which Nebuchadnez '
zar had taken out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon ,
these Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon ,
and they were delivered to one whose name was Shesh-baz '
zar ,
whom he had made governor ;
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and he said to him , "
Take these vessels ,
go and put them in the temple which is in Jerusalem ,
and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site ."
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Then this Shesh-baz '
zar came and laid the foundations of the house of God which is in Jerusalem ;
and from that time until now it has been in building ,
and it is not yet finished .'
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Therefore ,
if it seem good to the king ,
let search be made in the royal archives there in Babylon ,
to see whether a decree was issued by Cyrus the king for the rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem .
And let the king send us his pleasure in this matter ."
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Then Darius the king made a decree ,
and search was made in Babylonia ,
in the house of the archives where the documents were stored .
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And in Ecbat '
ana ,
the capital which is in the province of Media ,
a scroll was found on which this was written : "
A record .
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In the first year of Cyrus the king ,
Cyrus the king issued a decree :
Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem ,
let the house be rebuilt ,
the place where sacrifices are offered and burnt offerings are brought ;
its height shall be sixty cubits and its breadth sixty cubits ,
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with three courses of great stones and one course of timber ;
let the cost be paid from the royal treasury .
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And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God ,
which Nebuchadnez '
zar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon ,
be restored and brought back to the temple which is in Jerusalem ,
each to its place ;
you shall put them in the house of God ."
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Now therefore ,
Tat '
tenai ,
governor of the province Beyond the River ,
She '
thar-boz '
enai ,
and your associates the governors who are in the province Beyond the River ,
keep away ;
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let the work on this house of God alone ;
let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site .
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Moreover I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God ;
the cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue ,
the tribute of the province from Beyond the River .
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And whatever is needed --
young bulls ,
rams ,
or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven ,
wheat ,
salt ,
wine ,
or oil ,
as the priests at Jerusalem require --
let that be given to them day by day without fail ,
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that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven ,
and pray for the life of the king and his sons .
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Also I make a decree that if any one alters this edict ,
a beam shall be pulled out of his house ,
and he shall be impaled upon it ,
and his house shall be made a dunghill .
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May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people that shall put forth a hand to alter this ,
or to destroy this house of God which is in Jerusalem .
I Darius make a decree ;
let it be done with all diligence ."
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Then ,
according to the word sent by Darius the king ,
Tat '
tenai ,
the governor of the province Beyond the River ,
She '
thar-boz '
enai ,
and their associates did with all diligence what Darius the king had ordered .
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And the elders of the Jews built and prospered ,
through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechari '
ah the son of Iddo .
They finished their building by command of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Ar-ta-xerx '
es king of Persia ;
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and this house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar ,
in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king .
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And the people of Israel ,
the priests and the Levites ,
and the rest of the returned exiles ,
celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy .
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They offered at the dedication of this house of God one hundred bulls ,
two hundred rams ,
four hundred lambs ,
and as a sin offering for all Israel twelve he-goats ,
according to the number of the tribes of Israel .
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And they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their courses ,
for the service of God at Jerusalem ,
as it is written in the book of Moses .
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On the fourteenth day of the first month the returned exiles kept the passover .
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For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together ;
all of them were clean .
So they killed the passover lamb for all the returned exiles ,
for their fellow priests ,
and for themselves ;
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it was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile ,
and also by every one who had joined them and separated himself from the pollutions of the peoples of the land to worship the LORD ,
the God of Israel .
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And they kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy ;
for the LORD had made them joyful ,
and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them ,
so that he aided them in the work of the house of God ,
the God of Israel .
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Now after this ,
in the reign of Ar-ta-xerx '
es king of Persia ,
Ezra the son of Serai '
ah ,
son of Azari '
ah ,
son of Hilki '
ah ,
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