1Then Dareyawesh the sovereign made a decree, and a search was made in the house of the books wherein also the treasures of Baḇel were kept.

2And at Aḥmetha, in the palace which is in the province of Media, a scroll was found, and this was written in it:

3In the first year of Sovereign Koresh, Sovereign Koresh made a decree concerning the House of Elah at Yerushalayim, “Let the house be built in the place where they brought offerings, and its foundations strongly laid, its height sixty cubits, its width sixty cubits,

4three rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the expenses be paid from the sovereign’s house.

5“And let the gold and silver utensils of the House of Elah, which Neḇuḵaḏnetstsar took from the Hĕḵal which is in Yerushalayim and brought to Baḇel, be returned and go to the Hĕḵal which is in Yerushalayim, to its place, and deposit them in the House of Elah,”

6Now, Tattenai, governor beyond the River, and Shethar-Bozenai, and your companions the officials beyond the River, stay away from there.

7Leave the work of this House of Elah alone. Let the governor of the Yehuḏim and the elders of the Yehuḏim build this House of Elah on its place.

8And I make a decree as to what you should do for the elders of these Yehuḏim, for the building of this House of Elah: Let the exact expense be paid to these men from the sovereign’s resources, out of the taxes beyond the River, so that they are not stopped.

9And whatever they need – both young bulls and rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the Elah of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests who are in Yerushalayim – let it be given them day by day without fail,

10so that they bring pleasing offerings to the Elah of heaven, and pray for the life of the sovereign and his sons.

11And I make a decree that whoever changes this word, let a timber be pulled from his house, and let him be impaled, hanged on it. And let his house be made a dunghill because of this.

12And Elah, who has caused His Name to dwell there does overthrow any sovereign or people who put their hand to change, to destroy this House of Elah which is in Yerushalayim! I Dareyawesh make the decree – let it be done promptly.

13Then Tattenai, governor beyond the River, Shethar-Bozenai, and their companions promptly did according to what Dareyawesh the sovereign had sent.

14And the elders of the Yehuḏim were building, and they were blessed through the prophesying of Ḥaggai the prophet and Zeḵaryah son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the decree of the Elah of Yisra’ĕl, and according to the decree of Koresh, and Dareyawesh, and Artaḥshashta sovereign of Persia.

15And this House was completed on the third day of the month of Aḏar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Sovereign Dareyawesh.

16Then the children of Yisra’ĕl, the priests and the Lĕwites and the rest of the sons of the exile, did the dedication of this House of Elah with joy,

17and offered at the dedication of this House of Elah one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Yisra’ĕl twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Yisra’ĕl.

18And they appointed the priests to their divisions and the Lĕwites to their divisions, over the service of Elah in Yerushalayim, as it is written in the Book of Mosheh.

19And the sons of the exile performed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month,

20for the priests and the Lĕwites had cleansed themselves – all of them were clean. And they slaughtered the Passover for all the sons of the exile, and for their brothers the priests, and for themselves.

21And the children of Yisra’ĕl who had returned from the exile ate together with all who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the gentiles of the land in order to seek יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl.

22And they performed the Festival of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for יהוה caused them to rejoice, and turned the heart of the sovereign of Ashshur toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the House of Elohim, the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl.