The Temple Is Finally Dedicated

6:13 Then Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues acted accordingly—with precision, just as Darius the king had given instructions.22 6:14 The elders of the Jews continued building and prospering, while at the same time23 Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo continued prophesying. They built and brought it to completion by the command of the God of Israel and by the command of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia. 6:15 They finished this temple on the third day of the month Adar, which is the sixth24 year of the reign of King Darius.

6:16 The people25 of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles26—observed the dedication of this temple of God with joy. 6:17 For the dedication of this temple of God they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve male goats for the sin of all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. 6:18 They appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their divisions over the worship of God at Jerusalem,27 in accord with28 the book of Moses. 6:19 29 The exiles30 observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. 6:20 The priests and the Levites had purified themselves, every last one,31 and they all were ceremonially pure. They sacrificed the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their colleagues32 the priests, and for themselves. 6:21 The Israelites who were returning from the exile ate it, along with all those who had joined them33 in separating themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to seek the Lord God of Israel. 6:22 They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the Lord had given them joy and had changed the opinion34 of the king of Assyria35 toward them, so that he assisted36 them in the work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.