Then then when the letter reached Darius’s hand.

gave an order The king ordered the matter.

and they searched They searched in the library where the archives were stored in Babylon.

And there was found in a pouch And a text of one scroll was found there in an אַחְמְתָא. So did the interpreters interpret, that it is a receptacle made for letters, written sheets and books, and they established it from the root of (Gen. 21:14): “a skin of water (וְחֵמַת מַיִם),” and the “aleph” in the word is not a radical, like the rest of the Aramaic language.

in the citadel in that citadel that was in the province of Media.

and so was written and so was written therein its memorandum.

the House of God in Jerusalem regarding the House of God in Jerusalem; what should be with it? “The House should be built.”

a place where they offer up sacrifices which is a place where they offer up sacrifices.

and its walls should be founded Aram. וְאֻשּׁוֹהִי. And its walls should be founded, like (4:12): “and its walls (וְאֻשַּׁיָא) they have joined.”

its height sixty cubits the height of the House was sixty cubits, and sixty cubits was its width.

rows Aram. נִדְבָּכִין, an expression for walls. The walls were of marble. marble Aram. גְּלָל (marmre in Old French).

and a row and a wall of new wood from within, in the manner of the building of the Temple that Solomon built.

and the expenditures And the expenditures for the needs of the House and for the other matters pertaining to the House shall be given them from the royal palace.

And also the vessels of and also the sacred vessels of the House of God, of gold and silver, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the Temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon.

let them be given over [as translated,] let them be given over.

and brought which he brought.

and brought Let all this work be brought to the Temple that is in Jerusalem, to its place.

and it shall be deposited And it shall be deposited in the House of the Holy One, blessed be He.

Now, Tattenai This is the reply with which Darius answered Tattenai and Shethar-Bozenai.

who are on the other side of the river to the side of the land of Israel, which is the other side of the river to those in Babylon

distance yourselves from there Distance yourselves from the building of the Temple, so that you do not disturb the workers.

this [as translated,] this.

the governors of the Jews The rulers of the Jews shall do this thing.

and to the elders of the Jews And to the elders of the Jews I command.

this House of God [as translated,] this House of God.

And from me shall be issued an order And from me this command will go forth.

regarding what you shall do regarding that building, the work that you shall do with these elders of the Jews to build the House of the Holy One, blessed be He.

and from the king’s property And from the king’s property they shall make ths building.

from the taxes of the other side of the river from the taxes of the other side of the river, which belong to the king. taxes Aram. מִדַּת, tax, like (4:13): “the king’s due (מִנְדָּה), the head tax, or the meal tax.” quickly Aram. אָסְפַּרְנָא. The building shall quickly be built; esploytosemant in Old French.

The expenses shall be given The expenses shall be given to these men so that they should not idle from their work.

And what they require and what they are concerned about.

and young bulls young bulls, rams and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven.

wheat for fine flour. salt for sacrifices. wine for libations. and oil for the meal-offerings. When the priests who are in Jerusalem will say [what they need], that shall be given to them the requirements of each day on its day.

without delay Aram. דִּי לָא שָּׁלוּ (son destorber in Old French).

That they should in order that they should offer up pleasing sacrificing to the God of the heavens, and that they should pray for the life of the king and his children.

And an order is issued by me And a command is issued by me, along with the issue of a word regarding any person who disobeys this word.

shall be torn Aram. יִתְנְסַח. The beams of his house shall be destroyed. יִתְנְסַח is like (Deut. 28:63): “and you shall be uprooted (וְנִסַחְתֶּם) from the land.”

and a gallows upon which to place him And a gallows upon which to hang him shall be [raised up] high, so that he be hanged upon the gallows.

and his house shall be made a dungheap and his house shall be made a dungheap because of this.

נְוָלוּ connotes filth and excrement.

And God, Who caused His name to rest there [as translated,] and God, Who caused His name to rest there.

will cast down will cast down and destroy any such king and any such people that will stretch forth a hand to lay waste and destroy His house that is in Jerusalem.

have issued an edict I have issued a command concerning this matter, that the building be constructed swiftly. Until here is Darius’s reply.

as was said [as translated,] as was said.

acted swiftly [as translated,] acted swiftly.

And the elders of the Jews And the elders of the Jews were building and succeeding in their work, according to the prophecy of Haggai and Zechariah, and they built and founded the building by the command of the God of Israel and by the authorization of Cyrus, the first king of Persia, in whose days the laying of the foundation was commenced, and by the authorization of this Darius, the king of Persia.

and Artaxerxes He is Darius, but he was called Artaxerxes because of the province and the kingdom, for all kings of Persia were thus named just as all the kings of Egypt were called Pharaoh.

And the completion of this House And the end of the completion of this House was until the third day of the month of Adar, which is the sixth year of King Darius; hence the building of the House took four years.

And they offered up for the dedication They offered up for the dedication of this House these sacrifices, and it was a temporary ruling.

Now they set up the priests in their divisions for the priests were divided in their service and the Levites in their watches.

the Passover [offering] Now Israel made the Passover offering on this fourteenth of Nissan, which followed this Adar, when the building was completed.

and for themselves Heb. וְלָהֶם, lit. and for them, and for themselves.

and whoever separated They are the proselytes, who were separated from the defilement of the nations to cleave to Israel.

and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them And the Holy One, blessed be He, turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward the Israelites who were dwelling under his dominion in the land of Assyria, to strengthen them and to assist in the work of the building.