Ezra 6

¹ Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon.

² And 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:

³ In 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;

⁴ With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house:

⁵ And 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.

⁶ Now therefore, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shethar-boznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence:

⁷ Let 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.

⁸ Moreover 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.

⁹ And 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:

¹⁰ That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.

¹¹ Also 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.

¹² And 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.

¹³ Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shethar-boznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily.

¹⁴ And 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.

¹⁵ And 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.

¹⁶ And 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,

¹⁷ And 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.

¹⁸ And 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.

¹⁹ And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.

²⁰ For 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.

²¹ And 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,

²² And 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.

World Behind This Chapter

Explore the people, places, language, history, and material world connected to Ezra 6.

QUESTIONS WORTH EXPLORING

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Why was the memorandum found at Ecbatana rather than Babylon?

Persian records could be stored at different royal centers. Ezra locates the memorandum at Ecbatana in Media, showing that the imperial archive was not imagined as one modern centralized filing room.

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What survives of Ezra among the Dead Sea Scrolls?

Fragments known as 4QEzra preserve portions of Ezra 4–6 in Hebrew and Aramaic, including material near the archive search. They offer an ancient manuscript witness, though only small parts of the book survive.

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How is the Second Temple dedication described?

The dedication includes sacrifices, priestly and Levitical organization, and Passover. Its offerings are much smaller than those assigned to Solomon’s temple, making scale and continuity visible together.

WORTH A CLOSER LOOK

Artifacts

Handle the paperwork of Persian administration

This Achaemenid clay tablet records an allocation in Elamite and carries seal impressions. It does not come from Judah, but it shows the physical recordkeeping culture behind Ezra 6’s searches, memoranda, decrees, and accountable disbursements.

View the object →

⌘ Research PathsCurated links for exploring this chapter 3

History & Daily Life1

• The Persepolis Fortification ArchiveInstitute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, University of Chicago

  Official project page for the Persepolis Fortification Archive, a massive Achaemenid administrative archive from the Persian imperial heartland. Useful comparative context for Ezra 6’s royal archives, decrees, treasuries, officials, supplies, and imperial bureaucracy; not evidence for the Jerusalem decree itself.

Maps & Timeline1

• Ecbatana / AchmethaBible Atlas / Bible Hub

  Map and place study for Ecbatana, called Achmetha in Ezra 6:2, where the memorandum of Cyrus’s decree is found in the royal archives. Useful for exploring Persian imperial geography and why a Judean temple decree might be preserved far from Babylon.

Language & Literature1

• Ezra 6 Interlinear BibleBible Hub

  Aramaic interlinear with transliteration, morphology, and lexical links for Darius’s decree, the archive search, the memorandum, temple funding, and the completion notice. Useful because Ezra 6 belongs to the Aramaic administrative section of the book.