Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the {Aramaic: books.}archives, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon.
And there was found at {That is, Ecbatana.}Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of Media, a roll, and therein was thus written for a record:
In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be builded, the place where they offer sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits;
with three courses of great stones, and a course of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house.
And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to its place; and thou shalt put them in the house of God.
Now therefore, Tattenai, governor beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and {Aramaic: their.}your companions the Apharsachites, who are beyond the River, be ye far from thence:
let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in its place.
Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to these elders of the Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the River, expenses be given with all diligence unto these men, that they be not hindered.
And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for burnt-offerings to the God of heaven; also wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the word of the priests that are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail;
that they may offer sacrifices of sweet savor unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.
Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let a beam be pulled out from his house, and let him be lifted up and fastened thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this:
and the God that hath caused his name to dwell there overthrow all kings and peoples that shall put forth their hand to alter the same, to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with all diligence.
Then Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their companions, {Or, because of that which &c.}because that Darius the king had sent, did accordingly with all diligence.
And the elders of the Jews builded and prospered, through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the decree of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.
And they offered at the dedication of this house of God a hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin-offering for all Israel, twelve he-goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.
And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses.
And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.
For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves {Hebrew; as one.}together; all of them were pure: and they killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.
And the children of Israel that were come again out of the captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the nations of the land, to seek Jehovah, the God of Israel, did eat,
and kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for Jehovah had made them joyful, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
Querverweise zu Esra 6,18 Esra 6,18
Now David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son king over Israel.
And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.
And the Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand.
Of these, twenty and four thousand were to oversee the work of the house of Jehovah; and six thousand were officers and judges;
and four thousand were doorkeepers; and four thousand praised Jehovah with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.
And David divided them into {Hebrew: divisions.}courses according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
Of the Gershonites: {In chapter 6:17, Libni.}Ladan and Shimei.
The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three.
The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers' houses of Ladan.
And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, {In verse 11, Zizah.}Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.
And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons; therefore they became a fathers' house in one reckoning.
The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.
The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was separated, {Or, to sanctify as most holy him &c.}that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons, for ever, to burn incense before Jehovah, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, for ever.
But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.
The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
The sons of Gershom: {In chapter 24:20, Shubael.}Shebuel the chief.
And the sons of Eliezer were: Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.
The sons of Izhar: {In chapter 24:22, Shelomoth.}Shelomith the chief.
The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief, and Isshiah the second.
The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.
And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters only: and their brethren the sons of Kish took them to wife.
The sons of Mushi: Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.
These were the sons of Levi after their fathers' houses, even the heads of the fathers' houses of those of them that were counted, in the number of names by their polls, who did the work for the service of the house of Jehovah, from twenty years old and upward.
For David said, Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath given rest unto his people; and he dwelleth in Jerusalem for ever:
and also the Levites shall no more have need to carry the tabernacle and all the vessels of it for the service thereof.
Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him.
And prepare yourselves after your fathers' houses by your courses, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son.
And thou shalt present the Levites before the tent of meeting: and thou shall assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel:
and thou shalt present the Levites before Jehovah. And the children of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites:
and Aaron shall {Hebrew: wave, and in verse 13, 15, 21.}offer the Levites before Jehovah for a wave-offering, {Or, from }on the behalf of the children of Israel, that it may be theirs to do the service of Jehovah.
And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and offer thou the one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering, unto Jehovah, to make atonement for the Levites.
And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for a wave-offering unto Jehovah.
Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine.
And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tent of meeting: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for a wave-offering.
For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of all that openeth the womb, even the first-born of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.
For all the first-born among the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.
And I have taken the Levites instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel.
And I have given the Levites as {Hebrew: Nethunium, given.}a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel; that there be no plague among the children of Israel, {Or, through the children of Israel coming nigh}when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.
Thus did Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the Levites: according unto all that Jehovah commanded Moses touching the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them.
And the Levites purified themselves from sin, and they washed their clothes: and Aaron offered them for a wave-offering before Jehovah; and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them.
And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron, and before his sons: as Jehovah had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them.
And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
This is that which belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in {Hebrew: to war the warfare in the work.}to wait upon the service in the work of the tent of meeting:
and from the age of fifty years they shall {Hebrew: return from the warfare of the work.}cease waiting upon the work, and shall serve no more,
but shall minister with their brethren in the tent of meeting, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charges.
And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the fathers' houses of your brethren the children of the people, {Or, and according to the distribution of each father's house}and let there be for each a portion of a father's house of the Levites.