Ezra 6:8-18

8 Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God: Their expenses are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop.

9 Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and olive oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem—must be given them daily without fail,

10 so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons.

11 Furthermore, I decree that if anyone defies this edict, a beam is to be pulled from their house and they are to be impaled on it. And for this crime their house is to be made a pile of rubble.

12 May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem. I Darius have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence.

Completion and Dedication of the Temple

13 Then, because of the decree King Darius had sent, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates carried it out with diligence.

14 So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.

15 The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

16 Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy.

17 For the dedication of this house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred male lambs and, as a sin offering^[a] for all Israel, twelve male goats, one for each of the tribes of Israel.

18 And they installed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their groups for the service of God at Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.

Ezra 6:8-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZRA 6

Darius, on receiving the letter from his officers in Samaria, searched for the decree of Cyrus, and found it, and which he confirmed, Ezr 6:1-7 and made a fresh decree, and ordered expenses to be given out of his tribute for the building of the temple, and for the sacrifices of it; and that whosoever altered it should be hanged on the timber of his own house, and imprecated a curse on those that should destroy the house of God, Ezr 6:8-12 upon which the building went on, and was finished, Ezr 6:13-15 and the temple was dedicated to God in a solemn manner, Ezr 6:16-18, and the passover was kept by all the people, Ezr 6:19-22.

Cross References

• 1. S ver 4
• 2. S 1 Samuel 9:20
• 3. Leviticus 1:3,10
• 4. Ezra 7:23; 1 Timothy 2:1-2
• 5. S Deuteronomy 21:22-23; Esther 2:23; Esther 5:14; Esther 9:14
• 6. Ezra 7:26; Daniel 2:5; Daniel 3:29
• 7. S Exodus 20:24; S Deuteronomy 12:5; 1 Kings 9:3; S 2 Chronicles 6:2
• 8. ver 14
• 9. S Ezra 4:9
• 10. S Ezra 5:1
• 11. S Ezra 1:1-4
• 12. ver 12
• 13. Ezra 7:1; Nehemiah 2:1
• 14. Zechariah 1:1; Zechariah 4:9
• 15. S 1 Kings 8:63; 2 Chronicles 7:5
• 16. S 2 Samuel 6:13; S 2 Chronicles 29:21; S 2 Chronicles 30:24; Ezra 8:35
• 17. 1 Chronicles 23:6; S 2 Chronicles 35:4; Luke 1:5
• 18. S 1 Chronicles 24:1
• 19. Numbers 3:6-9; Numbers 8:9-11; Numbers 18:1-32

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "purification offering"