# Ezra 06 đ: The Temple Is Completed
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[[-Ezra Overview]] | [[Ezra 05]] | [[Ezra 07]]
> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đ Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#đ§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#âď¸ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#đ Key Principles / đ Life Application]]
> [[#đŹ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#âď¸ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đ Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#đ Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đ Internal Notes]]
## đ Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
## Darius Issues a Decree
[[#Verse 01.]] So Darius the king issued orders, and they searched in the archives of the treasury which were deposited there in Babylon.Â
[[#Verse 02.]] A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana which is in the province of Media, and it was inscribed as follows: âMemorandum:Â
[[#Verse 03.]] In the first year of his reign, King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: âLet the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place. Its height is to be 90 feet and its width 90 feet,Â
[[#Verse 04.]] with three layers of large stones and one layer of timber. The expense is to be subsidized by the royal treasury.
[[#Verse 05.]]Â Furthermore, let the gold and silver vessels of the temple of God, which Nebuchadnezzar brought from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, be returned and brought to their proper place in the temple in Jerusalem. Let them be deposited in the temple of God.â
[[#Verse 06.]]Â âNow Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials of Trans-Euphratesâall of you stay far away from there.Â
[[#Verse 07.]] Leave the work on this temple of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this temple of God in its proper place.
[[#Verse 08.]]Â âI also hereby issue orders as to what you are to do with those elders of the Jews in order to rebuild this temple of God. From the royal treasury, from the taxes of Trans-Euphrates, the complete costs are to be given to these men so that there may be no interruption of the work.Â
[[#Verse 09.]] Whatever is neededâwhether oxen or rams or lambs for burnt offerings for the God of heaven or wheat or salt or wine or oil, as required by the priests who are in Jerusalemâmust be given to them daily without any neglect,Â
[[#Verse 10.]]Â so that they may be offering incense to the God of heaven and may be praying for the good fortune of the king and his family.
[[#Verse 11.]] âI hereby give orders that if anyone changes this directive a beam is to be pulled out from his house and he is to be raised up and impaled on it, and his house is to be reduced to a rubbish heap for this indiscretion.Â
[[#Verse 12.]] May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation who reaches out to cause such change so as to destroy this temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have given orders. Let them be carried out with precision!â
## The Temple Is Finally Dedicated
[[#Verse 13.]]Â Then Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues acted accordinglyâwith precision, just as Darius the king had given instructions.Â
[[#Verse 14.]] The elders of the Jews continued building and prospering, while at the same time Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo continued prophesying. They built and brought it to completion by the command of the God of Israel and by the command of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia.Â
[[-Haggai Overview]]
[[-Zechariah Overview]]
[[#Verse 15.]] They finished this temple on the third day of the month Adar, which is the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
[[#Verse 16.]] The people of Israelâthe priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exilesâobserved the dedication of this temple of God with joy.Â
[[#Verse 17.]]Â For the dedication of this temple of God they offered 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and 12 male goats for the sin of all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.Â
[[#Verse 18.]] They appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their divisions over the worship of God at Jerusalem, in accord with the book of Moses.Â
[[#Verse 19.]] The exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.
[[#Verse 20.]] The priests and the Levites had purified themselves, every last one, and they all were ceremonially pure. They sacrificed the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their colleagues the priests, and for themselves.Â
[[#Verse 21.]] The Israelites who were returning from the exile ate it, along with all those who had joined them in separating themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to seek the Lord God of Israel.Â
[[#Verse 22.]] They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the Lord had given them joy and had changed the opinion of the king of Assyria toward them so that he assisted them in the work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.
## đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
## đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. The scroll was found at Ecbatana (6:2), a summer residence of the Persian kings in modern Hamadan, Iran.
2. Cyrus's decree gave the temple's dimensions as sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide (6:3).
3. Darius ordered that the building costs be paid from the royal revenue of the province Beyond the River (6:8), turning tax money into support for the temple.
4. Darius warned that anyone who altered his edict would be impaled on a beam pulled from his own house (6:11).
5. The temple was finished on the third day of Adar in Darius's sixth year (6:15), about 515 BC.
6. This second temple, later expanded by Herod, stood until the Romans destroyed it in AD 70.
7. They offered twelve male goats as a sin offering, one for each tribe of Israel (6:17), presenting themselves as all Israel.
8. Passover was kept on the fourteenth day of the first month (6:19), as commanded in Exodus 12:6.
9. Darius is called "the king of Assyria" in 6:22, an older title for a ruler over lands Assyria once controlled.
10. The Aramaic section that began in 4:8 ends at 6:18, and the account of Passover returns to Hebrew.
## đ§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## âď¸ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is our Passover lamb. The people celebrated Passover with joy after the temple was finished (6:19-22), and Paul declares that Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7).
## đ Key Principles / đ Life Application
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đŹ Discussion Questions
1. God used the archives of a pagan empire to protect His people (6:1-3). Where have you seen God work through unexpected places?
2. The elders built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah (6:14). Why is God's Word essential to finishing what God starts?
3. The Lord made them joyful and turned the king's heart toward them (6:22). How does remembering God's past work fuel your worship today?
## âď¸ Key Verses to Remember
- đ verse 3: Cyrus's decree is found, ordering the house of God to be rebuilt.
- đ verse 14: The elders build and prosper through the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah.
- đ verse 22: The Lord makes the people joyful and turns the king's heart toward them.
## đ Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đ [[Exodus 12#Verse 01.|Exodus 12:1-14]] - The first Passover.
- đ [[1 Corinthians 05#Verse 07.|1 Corinthians 5:7]] - Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.
- đ [[Haggai 02#Verse 09.|Haggai 2:9]] - The glory of this latter house will be greater.
- đ [[Proverbs 21#Verse 01.|Proverbs 21:1]] - The Lord directs the king's heart.
- đ [[John 02#Verse 19.|John 2:19-21]] - Jesus speaks of the temple of His body.
## đ Devotional Reflection
đ SOAP: [[Ezra 06 - SOAP|Unlikely Places of Help]]
## đ Internal Notes