Darius orders a search of the archives and the original decree of Cyrus is found at Ecbatana. The decree specifies Temple dimensions and materials, funded by the royal treasury. Darius not only confirms the decree but expands it: Tattenai is ordered to stay away, provide funds from tax revenue, and supply animals for sacrifice. Anyone who interferes will have a beam pulled from his house and be impaled on it. The Temple is completed in the sixth year of Darius and dedicated with joy. The returned exiles celebrate Passover, having purified themselves, and the chapter closes with the joyful observation that God had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
The chapter completes the first major arc of Ezra: the Temple is rebuilt, dedicated, and the Passover celebrated. Darius does not merely permit the building — he funds it from imperial taxes and threatens death to anyone who obstructs it. The empire that destroyed the Temple now pays to rebuild it. The dedication is deliberately understated compared to Solomon's (no fire from heaven, no glory cloud filling the house), yet the narrator insists on the community's joy. The final verse is theologically startling: it calls Darius 'the king of Assyria' (melekh Ashur), even though he was king of Persia. This is not an error — it is a theological identification. The narrator sees Persia as the successor to the Assyrian-Babylonian imperial tradition, and God's turning of 'the heart of the king of Assyria' means that the entire oppressive imperial trajectory has been reversed.
Translation Friction
The Aramaic section ends at verse 18, and the text returns to Hebrew at verse 19. The transition is unmarked — the reader simply shifts languages between verses. The decree found at Ecbatana (Aramaic: Achmetha), the Median capital, differs in detail from the decree in chapter 1. Chapter 1 presents a public proclamation in Hebrew; chapter 6 presents an Aramaic memorandum (dikhrona) with architectural specifications. These likely represent two different versions of the same authorization — a public edict and an administrative record. The sacrifice numbers at the dedication (100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, 12 goats) are modest compared to Solomon's dedication (22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep in 1 Kings 8:63). The 12 goats as a sin offering 'for all Israel' insist that the restoration represents all twelve tribes, even though only Judah and Benjamin actually returned.
Connections
The discovery of Cyrus's decree in the archives fulfills the promise implicit in 5:17 — the Persian system works as designed. The Temple dedication echoes Solomon's in 1 Kings 8/2 Chronicles 5-7 but in diminished scale. The Passover celebration (verses 19-22) connects the return from Babylon to the Exodus from Egypt, the foundational redemption narrative. The phrase 'turned the heart of the king' (hesiv lev melekh) uses the same theological language as Proverbs 21:1 ('The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases').
Then King Darius issued an order, and a search was made in the archives where the records were stored in Babylon.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The Aramaic beit sifrayya ('house of books/scrolls') is the Persian imperial archive. The word ginzayya ('treasures, deposits') indicates that official decrees were stored alongside valuables. The search begins in Babylon, the primary administrative center, but the document will be found elsewhere.
A scroll was found in the citadel at Ecbatana, in the province of Media, and this was the memorandum written in it:
KJV 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:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Ecbatana (Aramaic: Achmetha; modern Hamadan, Iran) was the Median capital and served as the Persian kings' summer residence. Cyrus may have issued the decree there, or the document may have been transferred from Babylon for archival purposes. The word dikhrona ('memorandum, record') indicates an internal administrative document, distinct from a public proclamation. This explains why it differs from the edict in chapter 1.
In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree concerning the house of God in Jerusalem: 'Let the house be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits,
KJV 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;
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The dimensions specified — 60 cubits (about 90 feet) high and 60 cubits wide — differ from Solomon's Temple, which was 30 cubits high, 20 cubits wide, and 60 cubits long (1 Kings 6:2). The discrepancy may indicate that Cyrus authorized a larger structure, that the numbers are rounded, or that the length was inadvertently omitted from this copy. A cubit is approximately 18 inches (45 cm).
with three courses of large cut stones and one course of new timber. The cost is to be paid from the royal treasury.
KJV With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The construction specification — three stone courses topped by one timber course — matches the technique described for Solomon's inner court (1 Kings 6:36, 'three courses of cut stone and one course of cedar beams'). The funding provision (nifqeta min beit malka, 'expenditure from the king's house') means the Persian treasury bore the cost. Imperial sponsorship of local temple rebuilding was standard Persian policy, confirmed by the Cyrus Cylinder and other documents.
Also, the gold and silver vessels of the house of God that Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon are to be returned and brought back to the Temple in Jerusalem, each to its proper place. They are to be deposited in the house of God.'
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The decree specifies le-atreh ('to its place') — each vessel must return to its original liturgical position within the Temple. This insistence on exact restoration reflects the Persian respect for cultic continuity. The phrase tachet be-beit Elaha ('deposit in the house of God') uses tachet in the sense of 'place down, deposit,' indicating formal installation.
Now then, Tattenai governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates — the officials in the province Beyond the River — keep away from there.
KJV Now therefore, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shetharboznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase rachiqin havu min tammah ('be far from there') is a blunt directive — stay out of the way. Darius not only confirms the building permit but orders the very officials who questioned it to stand down. Tattenai's neutral inquiry has resulted in an outcome far more favorable to the Jews than the status quo.
Allow the work on this house of God to proceed. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its original site.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The imperative shevuqu ('leave alone, let be') orders non-interference. The phrase pechat Yehudaye ('governor of the Jews') recognizes the Jewish leadership as a legitimate provincial authority. Darius addresses the Jewish governor and elders as competent administrators of their own religious project.
I also issue this decree regarding what you are to do for the elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God: the full cost is to be paid to these men promptly from royal funds — from the tax revenue of the province Beyond the River — so that the work is not interrupted.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Darius goes beyond confirming Cyrus's decree — he orders Tattenai's own provincial taxes to fund the Temple construction. The phrase osparna nifqeta teheve mityahava ('promptly/diligently let expenses be given') uses osparna (the Persian loanword for 'diligently') to demand urgency. The irony is complete: the officials who questioned the project must now finance it.
Whatever is needed — young bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine, and oil, as the priests in Jerusalem require — let it be given to them day by day without fail,
KJV 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:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Darius provides not just building funds but ongoing sacrificial supplies. The list — bulls, rams, lambs, wheat, salt, wine, oil — covers the full range of Temple offerings as prescribed in the Torah (Numbers 28-29). The phrase yom be-yom di la shalu ('day by day without ceasing') mandates continuous supply. A Persian king is now underwriting Israel's daily worship.
so that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase nichohin ('pleasing aroma') is the Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew nicho'ach — the 'soothing aroma' of sacrifice that ascends to God (Genesis 8:21; Leviticus 1:9). Darius's motive is partly political: the Jews are to pray for the king's life and dynasty. Imperial sponsorship of subject peoples' temples was a standard Persian strategy for securing loyalty. Yet the narrator presents this arrangement without cynicism — God works through political self-interest.
I further decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled from his house and he shall be impaled on it, and his house shall be made a refuse heap for this offense.
KJV Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let a 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The punishment is characteristically Persian in its brutal creativity: the criminal's own house provides the instrument of his execution. The verb yitmache ('be struck/impaled') likely refers to impalement, a standard Persian form of execution attested in Herodotus and Persian inscriptions. The final indignity — converting the house to a nevalu ('refuse heap, latrine') — ensures that the offender's legacy is erased along with his life.
May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to alter this decree or to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree. Let it be carried out with all diligence.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Darius invokes the God of the Temple as enforcer of his own decree — a Persian king calling on Israel's God to punish future violators. The phrase di shakken shemeh tammah ('who has caused his name to dwell there') uses Deuteronomic theology (Deuteronomy 12:5, 11) from a pagan king's mouth. Whether Darius understood the theology or his Jewish scribes drafted this language, the effect is the same: imperial power and divine authority converge. The first-person declaration ana Daryavesh sameth te'em ('I Darius have issued the decree') places the king's personal authority behind the order.
Then Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates carried out the order diligently, exactly as King Darius had directed.
KJV Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shetharboznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The word osparna ('diligently') reappears — the same urgency demanded by the king is now exhibited by his officials. Tattenai's compliance is immediate and thorough. The narrative turns on a bureaucratic irony: the investigation meant to challenge the Jews became the mechanism for expanding their support.
The Jewish elders built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They completed the building by the decree of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The narrator places God's decree (ta'am Elah Yisrael) alongside the decrees of three Persian kings — divine will and imperial authorization operate as a single cause. The mention of Artaxerxes alongside Cyrus and Darius is unexpected, since Artaxerxes comes later (chapter 7) and is associated with Ezra's mission rather than the Temple construction. The narrator may be telescoping the entire restoration project — Temple, walls, and community reform — into a single summary.
This house was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The date — 3 Adar in the sixth year of Darius I — corresponds to approximately March 12, 515 BCE. The Temple construction thus took about four and a half years from the resumption in 520 BCE, or about twenty-three years from Cyrus's original decree in 538 BCE. Adar is the twelfth and final month of the Jewish calendar, making the completion a fitting conclusion to the year.
The people of Israel — the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles — celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The word chanukkat ('dedication') is the same root that later names the Hanukkah festival commemorating the rededication of the Temple under the Maccabees in 164 BCE. The term carries the sense of inaugural consecration — setting apart for sacred use. The phrase be-chedvah ('with joy') is Aramaic, reflecting the continued Aramaic section. The community categories — priests, Levites, and benei galuta ('children of exile') — encompass the entire restored community.
They offered for the dedication of this house of God: one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats — one for each of the tribes of Israel.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The twelve goats for the sin offering are the most theologically significant detail. By offering twelve — le-minyan shivtei Yisrael ('according to the number of the tribes of Israel') — the community claims to represent all twelve tribes, not just Judah and Benjamin. The ten northern tribes deported by Assyria are not forgotten; the restored community acts on their behalf. The total sacrifices (100 + 200 + 400 = 700, plus 12) are modest compared to Solomon's dedication (22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep), but the twelve-goat gesture carries disproportionate theological weight.
They installed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their sections for the service of God in Jerusalem, as prescribed in the book of Moses.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
This is the last verse in Aramaic; the text returns to Hebrew at verse 19. The organizational structure — priestly and Levitical divisions (peluggatehon, machleqatehon) — follows the Mosaic prescription (Numbers 3-4) as elaborated by David (1 Chronicles 24-26). The phrase ki-khetav sefer Mosheh ('as written in the book of Moses') grounds the new Temple's operations in Torah authority, the same basis invoked at the altar's construction (3:2).
The returned exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.
KJV And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The text returns to Hebrew. The date — 14 Nisan — is exactly one month after the Temple's completion on 3 Adar. The Passover on 14 Nisan follows the Mosaic prescription exactly (Exodus 12:6; Leviticus 23:5). This is the first Passover celebrated at the rebuilt Temple, connecting the new community to the Exodus event. The term benei ha-golah ('children of the exile') emphasizes their identity as the returned diaspora.
The priests and the Levites had purified themselves together — all of them were ritually clean — and they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The note that 'all of them were clean' (kullam tehorim) emphasizes the contrast with the pre-exilic failures. In Hezekiah's Passover (2 Chronicles 30:17-20), many participants were ritually unclean and required special dispensation. Here the entire community — priests and Levites alike — achieved full ritual purity. The Levites slaughter the lamb for everyone, including the priests, indicating their role as liturgical assistants.
The Israelites who had returned from exile ate the Passover, along with everyone who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to join them in seeking the LORD, the God of Israel.
KJV 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,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
This verse is remarkable for its inclusiveness: alongside the returned exiles, others who had 'separated from the uncleanness of the nations' (nivdal mi-tum'at goyei ha-arets) were welcome at the Passover. These may have been Jews who remained in the land during the exile, or even non-Israelites who converted. The criterion is not genealogy but commitment — separation from impurity and seeking the LORD. This openness stands in tension with the stricter genealogical boundaries of chapters 2, 9, and 10.
They celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the LORD had filled them with joy and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
KJV 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.
The same theology as 1:1 ('the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus') — God redirects imperial power for covenant purposes. The verb savav means to turn something completely around, a reversal of orientation. Kings who oppressed Israel now strengthen Israel's hands.
Translator Notes
The chapter's final verse delivers a theological shock: Darius is called melekh Ashur ('king of Assyria'). Persia was not Assyria, but the narrator sees the imperial succession — Assyria to Babylon to Persia — as a single trajectory now reversed by God. The empire that first destroyed the northern kingdom now, through its Persian successor, funds the rebuilding of the Temple. The verb hesev ('turned') presents God as sovereign over imperial hearts, and the phrase le-chazzeq yedeihem ('to strengthen their hands') closes the arc that began with the enemies 'weakening the hands' of Judah in 4:4.