Bible 21 (CZ - 2015) with deuterocanonical books

1Král Dareios tedy nařídil, ať jsou prohledány záznamy uložené v babylonské archivní knihovně. 2Až v Ekbataně, hlavním městě médské provincie, se nalezl svitek obsahující tento záznam: 3Král Kýros v prvním roce své vlády vydal nařízení o Božím domě v Jeruzalémě: Nechť je ten dům vystavěn na místě, kam se přinášely oběti, a to na původních základech. Nechť je 30 loktů vysoký, 60 loktů dlouhý a 20 loktů široký. 4Po třech vrstvách tesaných kvádrů nechť následuje vrstva dřeva. Náklady budou hrazeny z královské pokladny. 5Zlaté a stříbrné náčiní Božího domu, které Nabukadnezar odnesl z jeruzalémského chrámu a zanesl do Babylonu, bude vráceno. Nechť je odneseno na své místo do chrámu v Jeruzalémě, kde je složíte v Božím domě. 6Odpověď zněla: Tatenajovi, hejtmanu zaeufratského kraje, Štar-boznajovi a ostatním úředníkům za Eufratem: Nevměšujte se! 7Nerušte práci na Božím domě. Židovský správce a židovští stařešinové nechť budují Boží dům na původním místě. 8Tímto nařizuji, abyste židovským stařešinům byli při stavbě Božího domu nápomocni: Náklady nechť jsou jim bezodkladně propláceny z královského majetku, totiž z daní zaeufratského kraje, aby se práce nezdržovala. 9Cokoli dalšího bude potřeba – ať býčci, berani či jehňata k zápalným obětem Bohu nebes, pšenice, sůl, víno či olej – cokoli si budou jeruzalémští kněží přát, nechť jim je denně bez prodlení dodáváno, 10aby přinášeli Bohu nebes příjemné oběti a modlili se za život krále a jeho synů.  11Dále nařizuji, aby každému, kdo tento výnos poruší, byl z domu vytržen trám, na němž bude vyzdvižen a zbičován; jeho dům ať se pak stane hnojištěm.  12Bůh, jehož jméno přebývá v Jeruzalémě, nechť poníží každého krále i lid, který by vztáhl ruku, aby porušil či poškodil tamější dům Boží. Já, Dareios, vydávám toto nařízení. Budiž provedeno bezodkladně.  13Hejtman zaeufratského kraje Tatenaj, Štar-boznaj i ostatní úředníci se tedy bezodkladně zařídili podle dopisu krále Dareia. 14Židovští stařešinové stavěli a dílo rostlo, jak prorokoval prorok Ageus a Zachariáš, syn Idův. Na pokyn Boha Izraele a na pokyn perských králů Kýra, Dareia a Artaxerxe nakonec stavbu dokončili. 15Chrám byl dokončen třetího dne měsíce adaru v šestém roce vlády krále Dareia. 16Synové Izraele, kněží, levité i ostatní navrátilci pak Boží chrám šťastně zasvětili. 17K zasvěcení Božího domu bylo obětováno 100 býků, 200 beranů a 400 jehňat. Jako oběť za hřích celého Izraele bylo obětováno 12 kozlů podle počtu izraelských kmenů. 18K Boží službě v Jeruzalémě postavili kněze podle jejich tříd a levity podle jejich oddílů, jak je psáno v Knize Mojžíšově. 19Čtrnáctého dne prvního měsíce slavili navrátilci Hod beránka. 20Kněží se proto očišťovali a stejně tak levité. Když byli všichni do jednoho čistí, porazili beránka všem navrátilcům, svým bratřím kněžím i sobě. 21Beránka jedli synové Izraele navrácení ze zajetí a s nimi každý, kdo se oddělil od nečistoty okolních národů, aby hledal Hospodina, Boha Izraele. 22Po sedm dní šťastně slavili Svátek nekvašených chlebů, neboť je Hospodin obšťastnil, když jim naklonil srdce asyrského krále, aby je podpořil v práci na Božím chrámu, na domě Boha Izraele.


Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary
 1   DARIUS' DECREE FOR ADVANCING THE BUILDING. (Ezra 6:1-Ezra 6:12)
Darius the king--This was Darius Hystaspes. Great and interesting light has been thrown on the history of this monarch and the transaction of his reign, by the decipherment of the cuneatic inscriptions on the rocks at Behistun.
in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon--An idea of the form of this Babylonian register house, as well as the manner of preserving public records within its repositories, can be obtained from the discoveries at Nineveh. Two small chambers were discovered in the palace of Koyunjik, which, from the fragments found in them, MR. LAYARD considers "as a house of the rolls." After reminding his readers that the historical records and public documents of the Assyrians were kept on tablets and cylinders of baked clay, many specimens of which have been found, he goes on to say, "The chambers I am describing appear to have been a depository in the palace of Nineveh for such documents. To the height of a foot or more from the floor they were entirely filled with them; some entire, but the greater part broken into many fragments, probably by the falling in of the upper part of the building. They were of different sizes; the largest tablets were flat, and measured about nine inches by six and a half inches; the smaller were slightly convex, and some were not more than an inch long, with but one or two lines of writing. The cuneiform characters on most of them were singularly sharp and well-defined, but so minute in some instances as to be almost illegible without a magnifying glass. These documents appear to be of various kinds. The documents that have thus been discovered in the house of rolls' at Nineveh probably exceed all that have yet been afforded by the monuments of Egypt, and when the innumerable fragments are put together and transcribed, the publication of these records will be of the greatest importance to the history of the ancient world" [Nineveh and Babylon].

 2   Achmetha--long supposed to be the capital of Greater Media (the Ecbatana of classical, the Hamadan of modern times), [is] at the foot of the Elwund range of hills, where, for its coolness and salubrity, Cyrus and his successors on the Persian throne established their summer residence. There was another city, however, of this name, the Ecbatana of Atropatene, and the most ancient capital of northern Media, and recently identified by COLONEL RAWLINSON in the remarkable ruins of Takht-i-Soleiman. Yet as everything tends to show the attachment of Cyrus to his native city, the Atropatenian Ecbatana, rather than to the stronger capital of Greater Media, COLONEL RAWLINSON is inclined to think that he deposited there, in his fortress, the famous decree relating to the Jews, along with the other records and treasures of his empire [Nineveh and Persepolis].

 8   of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the river . . . expenses be given unto these men--The decree granted them the privilege of drawing from his provincial treasury of Syria, to the amount of whatever they required for the furthering of the work and providing sacrifice for the service of the temple, that the priests might daily pray for the health of the king and the prosperity of the empire.

 11   whosoever shall alter this word--The warning was specially directed against the turbulent and fanatical Samaritans. The extremely favorable purport of this edict was no doubt owing in some measure to the influence of Cyrus, of whom Darius entertained a high admiration, and whose two daughters he had married. But it proceeded still more from the deep impressions made even on the idolatrous people of that country and that age, as to the being and providence of the God of Israel.

 13   THE TEMPLE FINISHED. (Ezra 6:13-Ezra 6:15)
Then Tatnai . . . did speedily--A concurrence of favorable events is mentioned as accelerating the restoration of the temple and infusing a new spirit and energy into the workmen, who now labored with unabating assiduity till it was brought to a completion. Its foundation was laid in April, 536 B.C. (Ezra 3:8-Ezra 3:10), and it was completed on February 21, 515 B.C., being twenty-one years after it was begun [LIGHTFOOT].

 16   FEASTS OF THE DEDICATION. (Ezra 6:16-Ezra 6:18)
the children of Israel . . . kept the dedication . . . with joy--The ceremonial was gone through with demonstrations of the liveliest joy. The aged who had wept at the laying of the foundation [Ezra 3:12] were most, if not all of them, now dead; and all rejoiced at the completion of this national undertaking.

 17   twelve he-goats--as at the dedication of the tabernacle (Num 7:87; Num 8:17).

 18   they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses . . . as it is written in the book of Moses--Although David arranged the priests and Levites in courses according to their families, it was Moses who assigned to the priests and Levites their rights and privileges, their stations and several duties.

 21   AND OF THE PASSOVER. (Ezra 6:19-Ezra 6:22)
all such as had separated themselves . . . from the filthiness of the heathen of the land--that is, who had given satisfactory evidence of being true proselytes by not only renouncing the impure worship of idolatry, but by undergoing the rite of circumcision, a condition indispensable to a participation of the passover.

 22   kept the feast . . . with joy: for the Lord . . . turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them--that is, king of the Persian empire, which now included the possessions, and had surpassed the glory, of Assyria. The favorable disposition which Darius had evinced towards the Jews secured them peace and prosperity and the privileges of their own religion during the rest of his reign. The religious joy that so remarkably characterized the celebration of this feast, was testified by expressions of lively gratitude to God, whose overruling power and converting grace had produced so marvellous a change in the hearts of the mighty potentates, and disposed them, pagans though they were, to aid the cause and provide for the worship of the true God.