1 Esdras 6

In the second year that Darius was king, the prophets Aggeus and Zacharias the son of Addo spoke God's messages to the Jews in Jewry and Jerusalem. They spoke in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, which was upon them.

1Now in the second year of the reign of Darius Aggeus and Zacharias the son of Addo, the prophets, prophesied unto the Jews in Jewry and Jerusalem in the name of the Lord God of Israel, which was upon them.

NoteThis book survives in Greek, so its names appear in Greek dress rather than the familiar Hebrew spellings. Aggeus is Haggai and Zacharias is Zechariah, the two prophets whose short books stand near the end of the Old Testament; Addo is Iddo. The Darius meant is Darius I of Persia, so his second year is about 520 BC. "Jewry" is an older English word for Judea, the small territory around Jerusalem, and carries none of the later senses that word picked up.

2Then Zorobabel the son of Salatiel and Jesus the son of Josedec stood up and began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem. The prophets of the Lord were with them and helped them.

2Then stood up Zorobabel the son of Salatiel, and Jesus the son of Josedec, and began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, the prophets of the Lord being with them, and helping them.

NoteZorobabel is Zerubbabel, a descendant of Judah's former royal line and the Persian-appointed governor of the province; Salatiel is Shealtiel. "Jesus the son of Josedec" is Jeshua son of Jozadak, the high priest: Jesus is simply the Greek spelling of the common Hebrew name Joshua, and this is not Jesus of Nazareth. "The house of the Lord" throughout this chapter means the temple building itself.

3At that same time Sisinnes, the governor of Syria and Phenice, came to them along with Sathrabuzanes and their companions, and said to them,

3At the same time came unto them Sisinnes the governor of Syria and Phenice, with Sathrabuzanes and his companions, and said unto them,

NoteSisinnes and Sathrabuzanes (Tattenai and Shethar-bozenai in the book of Ezra) were Persian imperial officials. Their province, called "Beyond the River" in Persian records, covered Syria, Phoenicia and Judea. Phenice is Phoenicia, the coastal strip of what is now Lebanon. Their arrival is an official inspection: a large building project with no visible authorization was exactly the sort of thing a governor was expected to look into.

4"Who gave the order for you to build this house and this roof, and to do all the rest of this work? And who are the workmen doing it?"

4By whose appointment do ye build this house and this roof, and perform all the other things? and who are the workmen that perform these things?

5Even so, the elders of the Jews were treated kindly, because the Lord had visited the people who had been carried away as captives.

5Nevertheless the elders of the Jews obtained favour, because the Lord had visited the captivity;

Note"The captivity" is used here as a collective name for a group of people, those who had been deported to Babylon and their descendants, rather than for the experience of being captive. "Visited" in older English means looked in on with close attention, and could carry either a favorable or a punishing sense; here it is favorable.

6They were not stopped from building. They kept on until word about them was sent to Darius and an answer came back.

6And they were not hindered from building, until such time as signification was given unto Darius concerning them, and an answer received.

Note"Signification" means a formal written report. The detail matters practically: the work was allowed to continue while the query and the reply traveled between Jerusalem and the Persian court, a round trip of many weeks at best.

7This is a copy of the letter that Sisinnes, governor of Syria and Phenice, and Sathrabuzanes, along with their companions, the rulers in Syria and Phenice, wrote and sent to Darius: "To King Darius, greetings.

7The copy of the letters which Sisinnes, governor of Syria and Phenice, and Sathrabuzanes, with their companions, rulers in Syria and Phenice, wrote and sent unto Darius; To king Darius, greeting:

NoteLetters to a Persian king followed a fixed office formula: senders named first, then the addressee, then a one-word greeting, then the body of the report. The KJV preserves that shape.

8Let our lord the king know everything. We came into the country of Judea and went into the city of Jerusalem. There in the city of Jerusalem we found the elders of the Jews, the ones who had been captives,

8Let all things be known unto our lord the king, that being come into the country of Judea, and entered into the city of Jerusalem we found in the city of Jerusalem the ancients of the Jews that were of the captivity

Note"The ancients of the Jews" does not mean old men. "Ancients" here translates the word usually given as elders, the senior heads of families who acted as the community's recognized leadership.

9building a house for the Lord, a great new house, made of cut and costly stones, with the timber already set into the walls.

9Building an house unto the Lord, great and new, of hewn and costly stones, and the timber already laid upon the walls.

Note"Hewn" stones are blocks squared and dressed by a mason, far more costly than rough fieldstone; the officials mention them because the expense implies a serious backer. Timber "laid upon the walls" describes courses of wooden beams set in between layers of stone, a known regional building technique that let a wall flex instead of shattering.

10That work is being done very quickly. It goes forward well in their hands, and it is being done with full splendor and care.

10And those works are done with great speed, and the work goeth on prosperously in their hands, and with all glory and diligence is it made.

11So we asked these elders, "Who commanded you to build this house and lay the foundations of this work?"

11Then asked we these elders, saying, By whose commandment build ye this house, and lay the foundations of these works?

12We questioned them about who the leaders of the work were, so that we could write and tell you. We also asked them for the names of their chief men in writing.

12Therefore to the intent that we might give knowledge unto thee by writing, we demanded of them who were the chief doers, and we required of them the names in writing of their principal men.

Note"The chief doers" means the men in charge of the project. The officials want names in writing because, under Persian administration, responsibility for unauthorized work fell on named individuals who could be summoned and punished.

13This is the answer they gave us: "We are the servants of the Lord who made heaven and earth.

13So they gave us this answer, We are the servants of the Lord which made heaven and earth.

14As for this house, it was built many years ago by a king of Israel who was great and strong, and it was finished.

14And as for this house, it was builded many years ago by a king of Israel great and strong, and was finished.

NoteThe king of Israel meant is Solomon, who built the first temple in Jerusalem roughly four centuries before the events of this chapter.

15But when our fathers made God angry and sinned against the Lord of Israel who is in heaven, he handed them over to the power of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, king of the Chaldees.

15But when our fathers provoked God unto wrath, and sinned against the Lord of Israel which is in heaven, he gave them over into the power of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, of the Chaldees;

NoteNabuchodonosor is Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon, who captured Jerusalem and burned the temple in 587 or 586 BC. The Chaldees are the Chaldeans, the people of southern Babylonia from whom the ruling dynasty came; "king of the Chaldees" is just another way of saying king of Babylon.

16They tore the house down, burned it, and carried the people away as captives to Babylon.

16Who pulled down the house, and burned it, and carried away the people captives unto Babylon.

17But in the first year that King Cyrus ruled over the country of Babylon, King Cyrus wrote an order that this house should be built.

17But in the first year that king Cyrus reigned over the country of Babylon Cyrus the king wrote to build up this house.

NoteCyrus the Great took Babylon in 539 BC, so his first year as its ruler is 538 BC. Letting deported peoples go home and rebuild their local temples at imperial expense was a known Persian policy, recorded in Cyrus's own inscriptions as well as here.

18Nabuchodonosor had carried the holy dishes of gold and silver out of the house at Jerusalem and put them in his own temple. King Cyrus brought them out again from the temple in Babylon and handed them over to Zorobabel and to Sanabassarus the governor,

18And the holy vessels of gold and of silver, that Nabuchodonosor had carried away out of the house at Jerusalem, and had set them in his own temple those Cyrus the king brought forth again out of the temple at Babylon, and they were delivered to Zorobabel and to Sanabassarus the ruler,

NoteThe "holy vessels" are the temple's ritual equipment: bowls, basins, dishes, snuffers and censers, made of precious metal. Carrying off a defeated people's sacred objects and housing them in the conqueror's own temple was standard practice and served as public proof of victory, so handing them back was the deliberate reverse of that gesture. Sanabassarus is the Sheshbazzar of the book of Ezra.

19with an order that he should carry these same dishes away and put them in the temple at Jerusalem, and that the temple of the Lord should be built on its own site.

19With commandment that he should carry away the same vessels, and put them in the temple at Jerusalem; and that the temple of the Lord should be built in his place.

Note"In his place" is the older English use of "his" where we would say "its": the temple was to be rebuilt on its original site. Ancient rebuilding normally reused the exact footprint and foundations of the old structure rather than choosing fresh ground.

20So Sanabassarus came here and laid the foundations of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. From that time until now it has been under construction, and it is not yet completely finished."

20Then the same Sanabassarus, being come hither, laid the foundations of the house of the Lord at Jerusalem; and from that time to this being still a building, it is not yet fully ended.

Note"Being still a building" is older English for "still being built," the same construction as the phrase "a house a-building." The exact relation between Sanabassarus, who lays the foundations here, and Zorobabel, who is building in verse 2, is left unexplained in the sources, and readers have long disagreed about whether they are two men or one man under two names.

21So now, if it seems good to the king, let a search be made among the records of King Cyrus.

21Now therefore, if it seem good unto the king, let search be made among the records of king Cyrus:

NotePersian government kept written archives of royal decrees precisely so that claims like this one could be checked years later. The request is a legal move: prove the permit exists, or the work stops.

22If it is found that the building of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem was done with King Cyrus's approval, and if our lord the king agrees, let him send us word about it."

22And if it be found that the building of the house of the Lord at Jerusalem hath been done with the consent of king Cyrus, and if our lord the king be so minded, let him signify unto us thereof.

23Then King Darius ordered a search among the records at Babylon. At the palace in Ecbatane, which is in the country of Media, a scroll was found with these things written in it:

23Then commanded king Darius to seek among the records at Babylon: and so at Ecbatane the palace, which is in the country of Media, there was found a roll wherein these things were recorded.

NoteEcbatane is Ecbatana, in Media, in what is now northwestern Iran. It served as the summer residence of the Persian kings, which is why a decree issued in Cyrus's first year had ended up filed there rather than at Babylon. "A roll" is a scroll, a written document rolled up for storage.

24"In the first year of the reign of Cyrus, King Cyrus commanded that the house of the Lord in Jerusalem be built again, the place where they offer sacrifices with fire that never goes out.

24In the first year of the reign of Cyrus king Cyrus commanded that the house of the Lord at Jerusalem should be built again, where they do sacrifice with continual fire:

NoteThe fire on the temple's main altar was kept alight permanently rather than lit fresh for each sacrifice, so "continual fire" identifies the place by one of its standing features.

25Its height shall be sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, with three rows of cut stones and one row of new wood from that country. The cost of it is to be paid out of King Cyrus's own treasury.

25Whose height shall be sixty cubits and the breadth sixty cubits, with three rows of hewn stones, and one row of new wood of that country; and the expences thereof to be given out of the house of king Cyrus:

NoteA cubit was about eighteen inches, roughly the length of a forearm, so sixty cubits is about ninety feet. That makes the permitted building both far taller and far wider than Solomon's temple had been, and the figures may be read as an upper limit the crown was willing to fund rather than an exact specification. The three courses of stone to one of timber is the same alternating construction the officials describe in verse 9. "The house of king Cyrus" means the royal treasury.

26And the holy dishes of the house of the Lord, both the gold ones and the silver ones, that Nabuchodonosor took out of the house at Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to the house at Jerusalem and put back where they were before."

26And that the holy vessels of the house of the Lord, both of gold and silver, that Nabuchodonosor took out of the house at Jerusalem, and brought to Babylon, should be restored to the house at Jerusalem, and be set in the place where they were before.

27He also gave orders that Sisinnes the governor of Syria and Phenice, and Sathrabuzanes, and their companions, and the men appointed as rulers in Syria and Phenice, should be careful not to interfere with the place. They were to allow Zorobabel, the servant of the Lord and governor of Judea, and the elders of the Jews, to build the house of the Lord on that site.

27And also he commanded that Sisinnes the governor of Syria and Phenice, and Sathrabuzanes, and their companions, and those which were appointed rulers in Syria and Phenice, should be careful not to meddle with the place, but suffer Zorobabel, the servant of the Lord, and governor of Judea, and the elders of the Jews, to build the house of the Lord in that place.

Note"Meddle with" here has its full older force: to interfere officially, to obstruct. "Suffer" means allow or permit, not endure pain. The order strips the local governors of any authority over the site.

28"I have also given orders that it be built up complete again, and that they take care to help the Jews who came back from captivity until the house of the Lord is finished.

28I have commanded also to have it built up whole again; and that they look diligently to help those that be of the captivity of the Jews, till the house of the Lord be finished:

29And out of the tax money from Celosyria and Phenice, a share is to be carefully given to these men for the sacrifices of the Lord, that is, to Zorobabel the governor, for bulls, rams, and lambs;

29And out of the tribute of Celosyria and Phenice a portion carefully to be given these men for the sacrifices of the Lord, that is, to Zorobabel the governor, for bullocks, and rams, and lambs;

NoteCelosyria is Coele-Syria, "Hollow Syria," first used of the valley between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges and later of a wider inland region. "Tribute" is the tax the province paid the Persian crown, so the temple's running costs were charged against imperial revenue collected locally. "Bullocks" are young bulls, not castrated oxen.

30and also grain, salt, wine, and oil, given steadily every year without any further questions, in the amounts the priests in Jerusalem say are used each day.

30And also corn, salt, wine, and oil, and that continually every year without further question, according as the priests that be in Jerusalem shall signify to be daily spent:

Note"Corn" in the King James Version means grain of any kind, normally wheat or barley; maize was unknown in this world. Grain, salt, wine and oil are the standard accompaniments that went with animal sacrifice, so this is a supply order for the daily ritual, priced by what the priests report is actually consumed.

31This is so that drink offerings may be made to the Most High God for the king and for his children, and so that they may pray for their lives."

31That offerings may be made to the most high God for the king and for his children, and that they may pray for their lives.

NoteA drink offering was wine poured out at the altar rather than drunk. Requiring that a subsidized temple pray for the king and the royal family was a normal condition of imperial patronage across the Persian empire, and appears in other documents of the period.

32And he ordered that if anyone breaks or ignores anything said or written above, a beam is to be taken out of that person's own house, and he is to be hanged on it, and all his goods taken for the king.

32And he commanded that whosoever should transgress, yea, or make light of any thing afore spoken or written, out of his own house should a tree be taken, and he thereon be hanged, and all his goods seized for the king.

NoteThe penalty is specific and physical: a beam is pulled out of the offender's own house and he is fastened to it, a form of execution by impaling or hanging on a stake that Persian records attest. Losing the beam wrecks the house as well, and the rest of the property is forfeited to the crown. The same sentence appears in the parallel decree in Ezra 6.

33"So may the Lord, whose name is called on there, completely destroy every king and nation that reaches out a hand to block or harm that house of the Lord in Jerusalem.

33The Lord therefore, whose name is there called upon, utterly destroy every king and nation, that stretcheth out his hand to hinder or endamage that house of the Lord in Jerusalem.

Note"Endamage" is an ordinary word of 1611 English, now lost, meaning to damage or injure. It is not a stronger or weaker word than "damage"; the prefix simply does no work we still hear.

34I, King Darius, have ordered that these things be carried out carefully."

34I Darius the king have ordained that according unto these things it be done with diligence.