6 Now therefore, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shetharboznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence:
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 in his place.
8 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.
9 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:
10 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.
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
6 Now therefore, Tattenai, governor beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and your companions the Apharsachites, who are beyond the River, be ye far from thence:
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 in its place.
8 Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to these elders of the Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the River, expenses be given with all diligence unto these men, that they be not hindered.
9 And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for burnt-offerings to the God of heaven; `also' wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the word of the priests that are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail;
10 that they may offer sacrifices of sweet savor unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.
6 `Now, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions, the Apharsachites, who `are' beyond the river, be ye far from hence;
7 let alone the work of this house of God, let the governor of the Jews, and the elders of the Jews, build this house of God on its place.
8 `And by me is made a decree concerning that which ye do with the elders of these Jews to build this house of God, that of the riches of the king, that `are' of the tribute beyond the river, speedily let the outlay be given to these men, that they cease not;
9 and what they are needing -- both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs for burnt-offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil according to the saying of the priests who `are' in Jerusalem -- let be given to them day by day without fail,
10 that they be bringing near sweet savours to the God of heaven, and praying for the life of the king, and of his sons.
6 Therefore Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shethar-boznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, who are beyond the river, be ye far from thence:
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 in its place.
8 Moreover, I give orders what ye shall do to these elders of the Jews, for the building of this house of God: that of the king's goods, of the tribute beyond the river, expenses be diligently given to these men, that they be not hindered.
9 And that which they have need of, both young bullocks and rams and lambs, for the burnt-offerings to the God of the heavens, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests that are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail;
10 that they may present sweet odours to the God of the heavens, and pray for the life of the king and of his sons.
6 Now therefore, Tattenai, governor beyond the River, Shetharbozenai, and your companions the Apharsachites, who are beyond the River, be you 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 in its place.
8 Moreover I make a decree what you shall do to these elders of the Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the River, expenses be given with all diligence to these men, that they be not hindered.
9 That which they have need of, both young bulls, and rams, and lambs, for burnt offerings to the God of heaven; [also] wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the word of the priests who are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail;
10 that they may offer sacrifices of sweet savor to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.
6 So now, Tattenai, ruler of the land across the river, and Shethar-bozenai and your people the Apharsachites across the river, keep far from that place:
7 Let the work of this house of God go on; let the ruler of the Jews and their responsible men put up this house of God in its place.
8 Further, I give orders as to what you are to do for the responsible men of the Jews in connection with the building of this house of God: that from the king's wealth, that is, from the taxes got together in the land over the river, the money needed is to be given to these men readily, so that their work may not be stopped.
9 And whatever they have need of, young oxen and sheep and lambs, for burned offerings to the God of heaven, grain, salt, wine, and oil, whatever the priests in Jerusalem say is necessary, is to be given to them day by day regularly:
10 So that they may make offerings of a sweet smell to the God of heaven, with prayers for the life of the king and of his sons.
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.