Ezra 6:1

Darius' Search

1 King Darius gave the order, and they searched in the library of Babylon in the archives.^[a]

Ezra 6:1 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 6:1

Then Darius the king made a decree
To make inquiry after the edict of Cyrus, to search the public records for it:

and search was made in the house of the rolls;
or "books" ^F18, in a public library or museum:

where the treasures were laid up in Babylon;
where things of worth and value were reposited; not only gold, silver, jewels, and precious stones, and things rare and curious, but all sorts of writings relating to the monarchy, and the dominions belonging to it; but it seems it could not be found here, and therefore the king ordered search to be made elsewhere.

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 (ayrpo tybb) , (en taiv biblioyhkaiv) , Sept. "in bibliotheca", V. L. "in bibliotheca librorum", Tigurine version; "in domo librorum", Pagninus, Montanus.

Ezra 6:1 In-Context

1 King Darius gave the order, and they searched in the library of Babylon in the archives.

2 But it was in the fortress of Ecbatana in the province of Media that a scroll was found with this record written on it:

3 In the first year of King Cyrus, he issued a decree concerning the house of God in Jerusalem: Let the house be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices, and let its [original] foundations be retained. Its height is to be 90 feet and its width 90 feet,

4 with three layers of cut stones and one of timber. The cost is to be paid from the royal treasury.

5 The gold and silver articles of God's house that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon must also be returned. They are to be brought to the temple in Jerusalem, where they belong, and put into the house of God.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit Babylon where the treasures were stored