Darius’s Search

King Darius gave the order, and they searched(A) in the library of Babylon in the archives.[a](B) But it was in the fortress of Ecbatana in the province of Media(C) that a scroll was found with this record written on it:

In the first year of King Cyrus, he issued a decree(D) concerning the house of God in Jerusalem:

Let the house be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices, and let its original foundations be retained.[b] Its height is to be 90 feet[c] and its width 90 feet,[d][e](E)

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 6:1 Lit Babylon where the treasures were stored
  2. Ezra 6:3 Lit be brought forth
  3. Ezra 6:3 Lit 60 cubits
  4. Ezra 6:3 Lit 60 cubits
  5. Ezra 6:3 A copyist seemingly overlooked the term for length and inadvertently read the 60 cubits for height and width. Like Solomon’s temple, this temple was probably 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

The Decree of Darius

King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives(A) stored in the treasury at Babylon. A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it:

Memorandum:

In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem:

Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid.(B) It is to be sixty cubits[a] high and sixty cubits wide,

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 6:3 That is, about 90 feet or about 27 meters