1
Then King Darius issued a decree, and a search was made in the archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon.
2
And at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found, and in it a record was written thus:
3
In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: "Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits,
4
with three rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the expenses be paid from the king's treasury.
5
Also let the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple which is in Jerusalem, each to its place; and deposit them in the house of God"--
6
Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and your companions the Persians who are beyond the River, keep yourselves far from there.
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 on its site.
8
Moreover I issue a decree as to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the building of this house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king's expense from taxes on the region beyond the River; this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered.