Ezra 6:9-19

9 "Whatever is needed, both young bulls, rams, and lambs for a burnt offering to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and anointing oil, as the priests in Jerusalem request, it is to be given to them daily without fail,

10 that they may offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and ¹pray for the life of the king and his sons.

11 "And I issued a decree that ²any man who violates this edict, a timber shall be drawn from his house and he shall be impaled * on it and ³his house shall be made a refuse heap on account of this.

12 "May the God who ⁴has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who attempts * to change it, so as to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree, let it be carried out with all diligence!"

The Temple Completed and Dedicated

13 Then ⁵Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues carried out the decree with all diligence, just as King Darius had sent.

14 And ⁶the elders of the Jews were successful in building through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decree ⁷of Cyrus, ⁸Darius, and ⁹Artaxerxes king of Persia.

15 This temple was completed on the third day of the ¹⁰month Adar; it was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

16 And the sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles *, ¹¹celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.

17 They offered for the dedication of this temple of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 * lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel * male goats, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel.

18 Then they appointed the priests to ¹²their divisions and the Levites in ¹³their orders for the service of God in Jerusalem, ¹⁴as it is written in the book of Moses.

The Passover Observed

19 ¹⁵The exiles * observed the Passover on ¹⁶the fourteenth * of the first month.

Ezra 6:9-19 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. Ezra 7:23; Jeremiah 29:7; 1 Timothy 2:1, 2
• 2. Ezra 7:26
• 3. Daniel 2:5; Daniel 3:29
• 4. Deuteronomy 12:5, 11; 1 Kings 9:3
• 5. Ezra 6:6
• 6. Ezra 5:1, 2
• 7. Ezra 1:1; Ezra 5:13
• 8. Ezra 4:24; Ezra 6:12
• 9. Ezra 7:1
• 10. Esther 3:7
• 11. 1 Kings 8:63; 2 Chronicles 7:5
• 12. Ezra 8:35
• 13. 1 Chronicles 24:1; 2 Chronicles 35:5
• 14. 1 Chronicles 23:6
• 15. Numbers 3:6; Numbers 8:9
• 16. Ezra 1:11
• 17. Exodus 12:6

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "pleasing;" or "sweet-smelling sacrifices"
• [b] Lit "sends his hand"
• [c] Lit "were building and succeeding"
• [d] Lit "built and finished"
• [e] Lit "house"
• [f] Lit "until"
• [g] Lit "sons of the captivity"
• [h] Lit "which is in"