1 Then H116 Darius H1868 the king H4430 made H7761 a decree, H2942 and search H1240 was made in the house H1005 of the rolls, H5609 where H8536 the treasures H1596 were laid up H5182 in Babylon. H895
2 And there was found H7912 at Achmetha, H307 in the palace H1001 that is in the province H4083 of the Medes, H4076 a H2298 roll, H4040 and therein H1459 was a record H1799 thus H3652 written: H3790
3 In the first H2298 year H8140 of Cyrus H3567 the king H4430 the same Cyrus H3567 the king H4430 made H7761 a decree H2942 concerning the house H1005 of God H426 at Jerusalem, H3390 Let the house H1005 be builded, H1124 the place H870 where they offered H1684 sacrifices, H1685 and let the foundations H787 thereof be strongly laid; H5446 the height H7314 thereof threescore H8361 cubits, H521 and the breadth H6613 thereof threescore H8361 cubits; H521
4 With three H8532 rows H5073 of great H1560 stones, H69 and a row H5073 of new H2323 timber: H636 and let the expenses H5313 be given H3052 out of H4481 the king's H4430 house: H1005
5 And also H638 let the golden H1722 and silver H3702 vessels H3984 of the house H1005 of God, H426 which Nebuchadnezzar H5020 took forth H5312 out of H4481 the temple H1965 which is at Jerusalem, H3390 and brought H2987 unto Babylon, H895 be restored, H8421 and brought again H1946 unto the temple H1965 which is at Jerusalem, H3390 every one to his place, H870 and place H5182 them in the house H1005 of God. H426
6 Now H3705 therefore, Tatnai, H8674 governor H6347 beyond H5675 the river, H5103 Shetharboznai, H8370 and your companions H3675 the Apharsachites, H671 which are beyond H5675 the river, H5103 be ye H1934 far H7352 from H4481 thence: H8536
7 Let the work H5673 of this H1791 house H1005 of God H426 alone; H7662 let the governor H6347 of the Jews H3062 and the elders H7868 of the Jews H3062 build H1124 this H1791 house H1005 of God H426 in H5922 his place. H870
8 Moreover I H4481 make H7761 a decree H2942 what H3964 ye shall do H5648 to H5974 the elders H7868 of these H479 Jews H3062 for the building H1124 of this H1791 house H1005 of God: H426 that of the king's H4430 goods, H5232 even of H1768 the tribute H4061 beyond H5675 the river, H5103 forthwith H629 expenses H5313 be H1934 given H3052 unto these H479 men, H1400 that they be not H3809 hindered. H989
9 And that which H4101 they have need of, H2818 both young H1123 bullocks, H8450 and rams, H1798 and lambs, H563 for the burnt offerings H5928 of the God H426 of heaven, H8065 wheat, H2591 salt, H4416 wine, H2562 and oil, H4887 according to the appointment H3983 of the priests H3549 which are at Jerusalem, H3390 let it be H1934 given H3052 them day H3118 by day H3118 without H3809 fail: H7960
10 That they may offer H1934 H7127 sacrifices of sweet savours H5208 unto the God H426 of heaven, H8065 and pray H6739 for the life H2417 of the king, H4430 and of his sons. H1123
11 Also H4481 I have made H7761 a decree, H2942 that whosoever H3606 H606 shall alter H8133 this H1836 word, H6600 let timber H636 be pulled down H5256 from H4481 his house, H1005 and being set up, H2211 let him be hanged H4223 thereon; H5922 and let his house H1005 be made H5648 a dunghill H5122 for H5922 this. H1836
12 And the God H426 that hath caused his name H8036 to dwell H7932 there H8536 destroy H4049 all H3606 kings H4430 and people, H5972 that shall put H7972 to their hand H3028 to alter H8133 and to destroy H2255 this H1791 house H1005 of God H426 which is at Jerusalem. H3390 I H576 Darius H1868 have made H7761 a decree; H2942 let it be done H5648 with speed. H629
13 Then H116 Tatnai, H8674 governor H6347 on this side H5675 the river, H5103 Shetharboznai, H8370 and their companions, H3675 according H6903 to that which Darius H1868 the king H4430 had sent, H7972 so H3660 they did H5648 speedily. H629
14 And the elders H7868 of the Jews H3062 builded, H1124 and they prospered H6744 through the prophesying H5017 of Haggai H2292 the prophet H5029 and Zechariah H2148 the son H1247 of Iddo. H5714 And they builded, H1124 and finished H3635 it, according H4481 to the commandment H2941 of the God H426 of Israel, H3479 and according to the commandment H2942 of Cyrus, H3567 and Darius, H1868 and Artaxerxes H783 king H4430 of Persia. H6540
15 And this H1836 house H1005 was finished H3319 on H5705 the third H8532 day H3118 of the month H3393 Adar, H144 which was H1932 in the sixth H8353 year H8140 of the reign H4437 of Darius H1868 the king. H4430
16 And the children H1123 of Israel, H3479 the priests, H3549 and the Levites, H3879 and the rest H7606 of the children H1123 of the captivity, H1547 kept H5648 the dedication H2597 of this H1836 house H1005 of God H426 with joy, H2305
17 And offered H7127 at the dedication H2597 of this H1836 house H1005 of God H426 an hundred H3969 bullocks, H8450 two hundred H3969 rams, H1798 four H703 hundred H3969 lambs; H563 and for a sin offering H2402 H2409 for H5922 all H3606 Israel, H3479 twelve H8648 H6236 he H6841 goats, H5796 according to the number H4510 of the tribes H7625 of Israel. H3479
18 And they set H6966 the priests H3549 in their divisions, H6392 and the Levites H3879 in their courses, H4255 for H5922 the service H5673 of God, H426 which is at Jerusalem; H3390 as it is written H3792 in the book H5609 of Moses. H4873
19 And the children H1121 of the captivity H1473 kept H6213 the passover H6453 upon the fourteenth H702 H6240 day of the first H7223 month. H2320
20 For the priests H3548 and the Levites H3881 were purified H2891 together, H259 all of them were pure, H2889 and killed H7819 the passover H6453 for all the children H1121 of the captivity, H1473 and for their brethren H251 the priests, H3548 and for themselves.
21 And the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 which were come again H7725 out of captivity, H1473 and all such as had separated H914 themselves unto them from the filthiness H2932 of the heathen H1471 of the land, H776 to seek H1875 the LORD H3068 God H430 of Israel, H3478 did eat, H398
22 And kept H6213 the feast H2282 of unleavened bread H4682 seven H7651 days H3117 with joy: H8057 for the LORD H3068 had made them joyful, H8055 and turned H5437 the heart H3820 of the king H4428 of Assyria H804 unto them, to strengthen H2388 their hands H3027 in the work H4399 of the house H1004 of God, H430 the God H430 of Israel. H3478
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Ezra 6
Commentary on Ezra 6 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 6
Ezr 6:1-12. Darius' Decree for Advancing the Building.
1. Darius the king—This was Darius Hystaspes. Great and interesting light has been thrown on the history of this monarch and the transaction of his reign, by the decipherment of the cuneatic inscriptions on the rocks at Behistun.
in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon—An idea of the form of this Babylonian register house, as well as the manner of preserving public records within its repositories, can be obtained from the discoveries at Nineveh. Two small chambers were discovered in the palace of Koyunjik, which, from the fragments found in them, Mr. Layard considers "as a house of the rolls." After reminding his readers that the historical records and public documents of the Assyrians were kept on tablets and cylinders of baked clay, many specimens of which have been found, he goes on to say, "The chambers I am describing appear to have been a depository in the palace of Nineveh for such documents. To the height of a foot or more from the floor they were entirely filled with them; some entire, but the greater part broken into many fragments, probably by the falling in of the upper part of the building. They were of different sizes; the largest tablets were flat, and measured about nine inches by six and a half inches; the smaller were slightly convex, and some were not more than an inch long, with but one or two lines of writing. The cuneiform characters on most of them were singularly sharp and well-defined, but so minute in some instances as to be almost illegible without a magnifying glass. These documents appear to be of various kinds. The documents that have thus been discovered in the house of rolls' at Nineveh probably exceed all that have yet been afforded by the monuments of Egypt, and when the innumerable fragments are put together and transcribed, the publication of these records will be of the greatest importance to the history of the ancient world" [Nineveh and Babylon].
2. Achmetha—long supposed to be the capital of Greater Media (the Ecbatana of classical, the Hamadan of modern times), [is] at the foot of the Elwund range of hills, where, for its coolness and salubrity, Cyrus and his successors on the Persian throne established their summer residence. There was another city, however, of this name, the Ecbatana of Atropatene, and the most ancient capital of northern Media, and recently identified by Colonel Rawlinson in the remarkable ruins of Takht-i-Soleiman. Yet as everything tends to show the attachment of Cyrus to his native city, the Atropatenian Ecbatana, rather than to the stronger capital of Greater Media, Colonel Rawlinson is inclined to think that he deposited there, in his fortress, the famous decree relating to the Jews, along with the other records and treasures of his empire [Nineveh and Persepolis].
8-10. of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the river … expenses be given unto these men—The decree granted them the privilege of drawing from his provincial treasury of Syria, to the amount of whatever they required for the furthering of the work and providing sacrifice for the service of the temple, that the priests might daily pray for the health of the king and the prosperity of the empire.
11, 12. whosoever shall alter this word—The warning was specially directed against the turbulent and fanatical Samaritans. The extremely favorable purport of this edict was no doubt owing in some measure to the influence of Cyrus, of whom Darius entertained a high admiration, and whose two daughters he had married. But it proceeded still more from the deep impressions made even on the idolatrous people of that country and that age, as to the being and providence of the God of Israel.
Ezr 6:13-15. The Temple Finished.
13-15. Then Tatnai … did speedily—A concurrence of favorable events is mentioned as accelerating the restoration of the temple and infusing a new spirit and energy into the workmen, who now labored with unabating assiduity till it was brought to a completion. Its foundation was laid in April, 536 B.C. (Ezr 3:8-10), and it was completed on February 21, 515 B.C., being twenty-one years after it was begun [Lightfoot].
Ezr 6:16-18. Feasts of the Dedication.
16. the children of Israel … kept the dedication … with joy—The ceremonial was gone through with demonstrations of the liveliest joy. The aged who had wept at the laying of the foundation [Ezr 3:12] were most, if not all of them, now dead; and all rejoiced at the completion of this national undertaking.
17. twelve he-goats—as at the dedication of the tabernacle (Nu 7:87; 8:17).
18. they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses … as it is written in the book of Moses—Although David arranged the priests and Levites in courses according to their families, it was Moses who assigned to the priests and Levites their rights and privileges, their stations and several duties.
Ezr 6:19-22. And of the Passover.
21. all such as had separated themselves … from the filthiness of the heathen of the land—that is, who had given satisfactory evidence of being true proselytes by not only renouncing the impure worship of idolatry, but by undergoing the rite of circumcision, a condition indispensable to a participation of the passover.
22. kept the feast … with joy: for the Lord … turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them—that is, king of the Persian empire, which now included the possessions, and had surpassed the glory, of Assyria. The favorable disposition which Darius had evinced towards the Jews secured them peace and prosperity and the privileges of their own religion during the rest of his reign. The religious joy that so remarkably characterized the celebration of this feast, was testified by expressions of lively gratitude to God, whose overruling power and converting grace had produced so marvellous a change in the hearts of the mighty potentates, and disposed them, pagans though they were, to aid the cause and provide for the worship of the true God.