17 Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, ulet a search be made in the king’s treasure house, which is there in Babylon, whether it is so that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send us his pleasure concerning this matter.

The Decree of Darius

6 Then King Darius issued a decree, aand a search was made in the 1archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. 2 And at 2Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of bMedia, a scroll was found, and in it a record was written thus:

3 In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a cdecree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: “Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, 4 dwith three rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the eexpenses be paid from the king’s treasury. 5 Also let fthe gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple which is in Jerusalem, each to its place; and deposit them in the house of God”—

6 gNow therefore, Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and your companions the Persians who are beyond the River, keep yourselves 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 on its site.