17. Then, in the first year of his reign as emperor of Babylonia, Cyrus issued orders for the Temple to be rebuilt.
18. He gave back the sacred gold and silver utensils which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem and had placed in his own temple in Babylon. Cyrus handed these utensils over to Zerubbabel and the governor, Sheshbazzar.
19. The emperor told Sheshbazzar to take them and return them to the Temple in Jerusalem, and to rebuild the Temple where it had stood before.
20. So Sheshbazzar came and laid its foundation, and construction has continued from then until the present, but the Temple is still not finished.’
21. “Now, if it please Your Majesty, have a search made in the royal records in Babylon
22. to find whether or not the building of this Temple in Jerusalem had the approval of emperor Cyrus, and then, if it please Your Majesty, inform us what your will is in this matter.”
23. So Darius the emperor ordered a search to be made in the royal records that were kept in Babylon. It was, however, in the fortress of Ecbatana in the province of Media that a scroll was found, containing the following record:
24. “In the first year of his reign Cyrus the emperor ordered the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, where sacrifices are continually offered.
25. The Temple is to be 27 metres high and 27 metres wide. The walls must be built with one layer of new local wood on top of every three layers of shaped stone. All expenses are to be paid by the royal treasury.
26. Also the gold and silver utensils which King Nebuchadnezzar brought to Babylon from the Temple in Jerusalem are to be returned to their proper place in the Jerusalem Temple.”
27. Then Darius gave strict orders to Sisinnes, governor of Greater Syria and Phoenicia, Shethar Bozenai, their fellow-officials, and the local officials to stay away from Jerusalem and let Zerubbabel, the servant of the Lord and governor of Judah, and the other Jewish leaders rebuild the Temple of the Lord where it stood before.
28. “And I also command,” he continued, “that it be completely rebuilt and that, until it is finished, every effort be made to help the Jews who have returned from exile.
29. From the taxes received in Greater Syria and Phoenicia a contribution shall be made on a regular basis to these men, payable to Zerubbabel, the governor, for bulls, sheep, and lambs to be used in their sacrifices to the Lord.
30. In the same way, each year and without further question, wheat, salt, wine, and olive-oil are to be supplied, according to the daily needs indicated by the priests.
31. This must be done so that they can make wine offerings to God Most High for me and my children and pray for his blessing on our lives.”
32. He also gave these orders: “If anyone disobeys the commands as written above or fails to carry them out, he is to be hanged on a wooden beam taken from his own house, and his property is to be handed over to the emperor.
33. May the Lord who is worshipped at Jerusalem destroy any king or nation that tries to stop the work or damage the Temple there.