CYRUS, KING OF PERSIA, SENDS THE JEWS BACK TO THEIR OWN LAND, THEY BEGIN TO REBUILD THE TEMPLE, BUT ARE STOPPED BY THE SAMARITANS. THE PROPHET HAGGAI IS SENT. THE TEMPLE IS FINISHED IN THE REIGN OF DARIUS.
AND now the seventy years that the Jews were to spend in captivity had passed, and the time for them to go back to their own land had come. Therefore God made Cyrus, who was king in Babylon, willing to let them go. Then those words came true which the prophet Isaiah spoke, when he was alive, saying, That God would raise up a great king, named Cyrus, who would send the people back to build up Jerusalem and the temple again. It had been nearly two hundred years since Isaiah spoke those words. Cyrus was not born at that time; neither had the Jews yet been sent away from their own land. But God knew of all that would happen, and he told his prophet to foretell these things.
And King Cyrus made a proclamation, or decree, and sent it through all his kingdom, saying, Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia, The Lord has commanded me to build up his house in Jerusalem. Who is there among the captives from Judah that wishes to go back to his own land? Let him go now and build up the house of the Lord; and let the people of my kingdom help those who go, by giving them silver and gold, and cattle, and raiment, to take with them.
Then the chief men of the Jews, and the priests and the Levites, and all those whom the Lord made willing to go, prepared to start on their journey. And many persons gave them vessels of silver and gold, and cattle, and raiment, as the king had commanded. And King Cyrus brought out the vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple, and he counted them, and gave them to the prince of Judah who was going back with the people. The name of this prince was Zerubbabel; he was descended from King David. The number of all the vessels of gold and silver that Cyrus gave to him, was five thousand and four hundred.
So Zerubbabel took the vessels and carried them to Jerusalem. And there went with him forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty persons of the children of Israel, beside their servants, who were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven more. They had with them seven hundred and thirty-six horses, two hundred and forty-five mules, four hundred and thirty-five camels, and six thousand seven hundred and twenty asses. When they came to Jerusalem, they found it in ruins, as the army of Nebuchadnezzar had left it so many years before. The walls of the city, the houses, and the temple, had been broken down and burned.
And the people built again the altar of the Lord, which stood in the court of the temple. They made haste to build it that they might worship God, and ask for his help, because they were afraid of the heathen nations around them. As soon as the altar was built they offered up burnt offerings on it every day, a lamb in the morning, and a lamb in the evening, as the children of Israel used to do, before they were carried away to Babylon. Then they made ready to build the temple, and hired men of Tyre, as Solomon had done, to cut down cedar trees on mount Lebanon, and make rafts of them and float them, by the sea, near to Jerusalem. They gave these men meat, and drink, and oil, while they worked for them; and they paid money to carpenters and masons who began to build the house. When the first stones of it were laid, the priests and Levites played on trumpets and cymbals, and sang songs of praise to the Lord. And the people were glad and shouted with a great shout, because the building of the temple was begun. But many of the old men who remembered the temple which stood there before, wept with a loud voice. So that the sounds of shouting and the sounds of weeping went up together, and were heard afar off.
We have read that after the king of Assyria carried away the ten tribes of Israel as captives, he sent people from his own land to live in the cities which they had left. These people, who were called Samaritans, had been living there ever since that time. They worshipped idols, though they pretended to serve God. But now, when they heard that the people of Judah had come back to their own land, and were building the temple, they came to Zerubbabel and the rulers of the Jews, and said to them, Let us help you, for we are the servants of God as well as you, and have offered up sacrifices to him ever since the king of Assyria sent us to live in the land of Israel.
Zerubbabel, and Jeshua the high priest, and the chief men of Israel, answered the Samaritans, and said, You have nothing to do with the building of the Lord's house. We will build it ourselves, as Cyrus, king of Persia, has commanded us. At this answer the Samaritans were angry, and did all they could to stop the Jews, and hired men to speak to the king's officers against them. They did this as long as Cyrus lived.
After Cyrus died and Artaxerxes was made king, and they wrote a letter to him, saying, We want thee to know, O king, that the Jews who came from Babylon are now at Jerusalem, which is a wicked city, and they are building it up again and setting up its walls. And if this city be built and the walls set up, they will not pay thee tribute, as thy servants ought to do, but will rebel against thee. Now, because we do not want the king to be disobeyed by them, we send him word, so that he may inquire and find out whether the city of Jerusalem was not always a rebellious city, which gave trouble to the kings that reigned in the old time; for on this account Jerusalem was destroyed.
And the king did as the Samaritans asked him. Afterward he sent an answer to them, saying, The letter which you wrote me has been read before me, and I have inquired, and do find that Jerusalem was a rebellious city which gave trouble to the kings of old time. Therefore I tell you to go and command the men of Judah that they cease, and that the city be not built until permission shall be given them. Then the Samaritans went in haste to Jerusalem, and made the people cease building. So the work of building the temple was stopped as long as Artaxerxes was king.
After this, Artaxerxes died, and Darius was made king. But now, although the men of Judah knew there was another king in Babylon, they did not send and ask permission of him to go on building the temple. For, since the Samaritans had stopped them in building it, they had been building houses for themselves, and had become more interested in this than in finishing the house of the Lord; so they put off the building of the temple. Therefore the Lord was displeased with them, and sent Haggai, the prophet, who came and said, Thus saith the Lord, You say, It is not yet time for the Lord's house to be built. But is it time for you to be living in beautiful houses of your own, while my house lies in ruins? It is because you have left it unbuilt, but have made haste, every man, to build his own house, that I have not blessed you, and that you have not prospered and been happy. Now, therefore, go up to the mountains and cut wood, and build the house, and I will be pleased with it.
Then the people obeyed the command of the Lord, and began to build the house. But when the Samaritans saw it, they came again to Zerubbabel, and to Jeshua the high priest, and said to them, Who has commanded you to go on building the temple? Zerubbabel and Jeshua answered them, King Cyrus commanded us to come back to our own land, and build this house. And he gave us the vessels of gold and silver which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple, and said to us, Go, carry them to Jerusalem, and let the temple be built there.
Then the Samaritans wrote a letter to King Darius, at Babylon, and told him what the people of Judah said. And they asked the king to inquire and see whether it was true that Cyrus had commanded them to build the temple. When Darius read the letter, he told his servants to search in the books where all the decrees were written down which the different kings of Babylon had made. And a book was found with these words written in it: In the first year that Cyrus was king, he made a decree, saying, Let the house of the Lord, where the Jews used to offer up sacrifices, be built again at Jerusalem; let the foundations of it be strongly laid, and let the money that it shall cost be given out of the king's treasury. And let the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple, be taken back to Jerusalem and put into the temple that shall be built there.
As soon as King Darius found this decree which Cyrus had made so many years before, he sent word to the Samaritans to let the men of Judah build the house of the Lord, and not to disturb them. And Darius said, I make a decree that some of the king's tribute money which the Samaritans should pay to the king, they shall pay to the Jews instead, so that the Jews may go on building the temple: and that young bullocks and rams and lambs, be given them for burnt offerings; and wheat, and salt, and wine, and oil, whenever the priests may ask for them. Let these things be given them day by day, without fail, so that they may offer sacrifices unto God, and pray for the king and his sons. King Darius said also, Whoever shall alter this law and decree, that I have made, shall have the timber pulled out of his house, and a gallows shall be built of it, and he shall be hanged thereon. And his house shall be torn down and made into heaps.
When the Samaritans and their chief men heard this decree, they feared to disobey the king. Therefore they ceased troubling the Jews, and gave them some of the king's tribute money, and also young bullocks and rams and lambs, for burnt offerings, as the king commanded. And the men of Judah went on building the house until it was finished. Then they dedicated it to the Lord, and offered up sacrifices to him, a hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs and twelve goats. And they sent the priests and Levites to the temple to attend to the worship of God there. And in the first month, the people kept the feast of the passover, for seven days, with joy; because the Lord had made them glad, and had caused the king of Persia to be kind to them, and to help them in finishing the temple.