Opposition to the Rebuilding

4 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building^(A) a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel,

¹⁶ Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication^(A) of the house of God with joy.

The Passover

¹⁹ On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover.^{(A) 20} The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered^(B) the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their relatives the priests and for themselves.

²⁵ Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles^(A) from Judah^(B) who can tell the king what his dream means.”

¹³ Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah,^(A) pays no attention^(B) to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.”