Ezra 6

Ezra · Chapter 6

Ezra 6:14

1Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon.2And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written:3In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits;4With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king’s house:5And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to his place, and place them in the house of God.6Now therefore, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shetharboznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence:7Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place.8Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king’s goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered.9And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail:10That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.11Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this.12And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed.13Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shetharboznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily.14And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.15And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.16And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy,17And offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.18And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses.19And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.20For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.21And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the LORD God of Israel, did eat,22And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
14And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.So the Jewish elders built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.And the elders of the Jews builded and prospered, through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the decree of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Where

Locations from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Some ancient sites are uncertain.

Original Aramaic words

This passage was written in Aramaic, the common language of the Babylonian and Persian empires, which the Jews of the exile also spoke. It uses the same alphabet as Hebrew.

EnglishAramaicSay itStrong'sMeaning
and [the] elders ofוְשָׂבֵ֤יve-sa-VEIH7868
be gray

שִׂיב (siv) 1) to be gray, be hoary, be hoary-headed 1a) (P'al) elders (subst)

Jews theיְהוּדָיֵא֙ye-hu-da-YE'H3062
Jew

יְהוּדַי (ye.hu.da.i) Someone descended from Judah (H3063) and possibly other tribes, first mentioned at 2Ki.25.25 Aramaic of ye.hu.di (יְהוּדִי "Jew" H3064)

[were] buildingבָּנַ֣יִןba-NA-yinH1124
to build

בְּנָה (be.nah) 1) to build 1a) (P'al) to build 1b) (Ithp'il) to be built

and prosperingוּמַצְלְחִ֔יןu-matz-le-CHINH6744
to prosper

צְלַח (tse.lach) 1) to prosper 1a) (Aphel) 1a1) to cause to prosper 1a2) show prosperity, be prosperous, have success, be successful

by [the] prophesying ofבִּנְבוּאַת֙bin-vu-'ATH5017
prophesying

נְבוּאָה (ne.vu.ah) prophesying Aramaic of ne.vu.ah (נְבוּאָה "prophecy" H5016)

Haggaiחַגַּ֣יcha-GAIH2292B
Haggai

חַגַּי (chag.gay) A prophet living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.5.1 Aramaic of chag.gay (חַגַּי "Haggai" H2292A) § Haggai = "festive" 10th in order of the minor prophets; first prophet to prophecy after the captivity (in Aramaic writings)

prophet theנְבִיָּ֔אne-vi-'ah'H5029
prophet

נְבִיא (ne.vi) prophet Aramaic of na.vi (נָבִיא "prophet" H5030)

and Zechariahוּזְכַרְיָ֖הu-ze-khar-YAHH2148B
Zechariah

זְכַרְיָהוּ (ze.khar.yah) A prophet living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.5.1; son of: Berechiah (H1296L) Aramaic of ze.khar.yah (זְכַרְיָה "Zechariah" H2148v) § Zechariah = "Jehovah remembers" 11th in order of the minor prophets; a priest, son of Berechiah and grandson of Iddo, who, along with Haggai, directed the rebuilding of the temple in the days of Zerubbabel

[the] son ofבַּר־bar-H1247J
son

בַּר (bar) son Aramaic of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)

Iddoעִדּ֑וֹאi-DO'H5714J
Iddo

עִדּוֹ (id.do) A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.5.1; father of: Berechiah (H1296L) § Iddo = "His witness" 1) father of Abinadab, an officer of Solomon 2) grandfather of the prophet Zechariah 3) a Gershonite Levite, son of Joah 4) a priest in the time of Nehemiah 5) a seer in the time of king Jeroboam of the northern kingdom of Israel 6) son of Zechariah, ruler of the tribe of Manasseh in the time of David 7) a chief of the temple slaves who assembled at Casiphia at the time of the 2nd caravan from Babylon

and they builtוּבְנ֣וֹu-ve-NOH1124
to build

בְּנָה (be.nah) 1) to build 1a) (P'al) to build 1b) (Ithp'il) to be built

and they finishedוְשַׁכְלִ֗לוּve-shakh-LI-luH3635A
to complete

כְּלַל (ke.lal) 1) to finish, complete 1a) (Shaphel) to finish 1b) (Ishtaphel) to be completed

according toמִן־min-H4481
from

מִן־ (min) 1) from, out of, by, by reason of, at, more than 1a) from, out of (of place) 1b) from, by, as a result of, by reason of, at, according to, (of source) 1c) from (of time) 1d) beyond, more than (in comparisons)

[the] decree ofטַ֙עַם֙ta-'amH2942
command

טְעֵם (te.em) 1) report, taste 1a) taste 1b) report

[the] God ofאֱלָ֣הּ'e-LAHH0426
god

אֱלָהּ (e.lah) 1) god, God 1a) god, heathen deity 1b) God (of Israel)

Israelיִשְׂרָאֵ֔לYIS-ra-'ELH3479
Israel

יִשְׂרָאֵל (yis.ra.el) A man living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.25.26; son of: Isaac (H3327) and Rebekah (H7259); brother of: Esau (H6215); married to Rachel (H7354), Leah (H3812), Zilpah (H2153) and Bilhah (H1090A); father of: Reuben (H7205), Simeon (H8095), Levi (H3878), Judah (H3063), Dan (H1835H), Naphtali (H5321), Gad (H1410), Asher (H0836), Issachar (H3485), Zebulun (H2074), Dinah (H1783), Joseph (H3130) and Benjamin (H1144); also called Jacob frequently Aramaic of yis.ra.el (יִשְׂרָאֵל "Israel" H3478) § Israel = "God prevails" …

and according to [the] decree ofוּמִטְּעֵם֙u-mi-te-'EMH2942
command

טְעֵם (te.em) 1) report, taste 1a) taste 1b) report

Cyrusכּ֣וֹרֶשׁKO-reshH3567
Cyrus

כּ֫וֹרֶשׁ (ko.resh) A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 2Ch.36.22; son of: Gedaliah (H1436H) Aramaic of ko.resh (כּ֫וֹרֶשׁ "Cyrus" H3566) § Cyrus = "posses thou the furnace" the king of Persia and conqueror of Babylon; first ruler of Persia to make a decree allowing the Israelite exiles to return to Jerusalem

and Dariusוְדָרְיָ֔וֶשׁve-da-re-YA-veshH1868G
Darius

דָּֽרְיָ֫וֶשׁ (dar.ya.vesh) A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.4.5 Aramaic of dar.ya.vesh (דָּֽרְיָ֫וֶשׁ "Darius" H1867H) § Darius = "lord" 1) Darius the Mede, the son of Ahasuerus, king of the Chaldeans, who succeeded to the Babylonian kingdom on the death of Belshazzar; probably the same as "Astyages" the last king of the Medes (538 BC) (same as dar.ya.vesh (דָּֽרְיָ֫וֶשׁ "Darius" H1867) (1)) 2) Darius, the son of Hystaspes, the founder of the Perso-Arian dynasty (521 BC) (same as (2)) 3) Darius II or Darius III …

and Artaxerxesוְאַרְתַּחְשַׁ֖שְׂתְּאve-'ar-tach-SHAS-te'H0783B
Artaxerxes

אַרְתַּחְשַׁשְׂתְּא (ar.tach.shash.ta) A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.4.7 Aramaic of ar.tach.shash.ta (אַרְתַּחְשַׁשְׂתָּא "Artaxerxes" H0783H) § Artaxerxes = "I will make the spoiled to boil: I will stir myself (in) winter" son and successor of Xerxes as emperor of Persia, 465-424 BC

[the] king ofמֶ֥לֶךְME-lekhH4430
king

מֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) king Aramaic of me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4428) § 1) king

Persiaפָּרָֽס׃pa-RASH6540
Persia

פָּרַס (pa.ras) Aramaic of pa.ras (פָּרַס "Persia" H6539) § Persia = "pure" or "splendid" the empire Persia; encompassed the territory from India on the east to Egypt and Thrace on the west, and included, besides portions of Europe and Africa, the whole of western Asia between the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Caspian and the Jaxartes on the north, the Arabian desert, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean on the south 1a) Persia proper was bounded on the west by Susiana or Elam, on the north by Media, on the south by the Persian Gulf and on the east by Carmania Persian, of Persia "pure" or "splendid"

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.