The Daily Audio Bible

²⁴ Then the work of God’s house in Jerusalem was left [off], and it was not made till to the second year of the realm of Darius, king of Persia. (And so the work on the House of God in Jerusalem was stopped, and it was not started again until the second year of the reign of Darius, the king of Persia.)

5 Forsooth Haggai, the prophet, and Zechariah, the prophet, the son of Iddo, prophesied, prophesying in the name of (the) God of Israel, to the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem.

² Then Zerubbabel, the son of Salathiel, and Joshua, the son of Jozadak, rose up, and began to build (again) the temple of God in Jerusalem; and with them rose up the prophets of God, helping them. (And then Zerubbabel, the son of Salathiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, rose up, and began to rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God rose up with them, to help them.)

³ And in that time Tatnai, that was duke beyond the flood, and Shetharboznai, and the counsellors of them, came to them; and said thus to them, Who gave counsel to you to build this house (again), and to restore these walls? (And at that time, Tatnai, who was the governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shetharboznai, and their counsellors, or their officials, came to them; and said to them thus, Who gave counsel to you to rebuild this House, and to restore these walls?)

⁴ To the which thing we answered to them, and told them, which were the names of (the) men (what the names of the men were), (who were the) authors of that building.

⁵ Forsooth the eye of [the] God of them was made on the elder men of (the) Jews, and they might not forbid, or hinder, the Jews to build; and it pleased (them) that the thing should be told to Darius, and that then they should make satisfaction against that accusing. (But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, and so they did not forbid, or hinder, the Jews from continuing to build; and it pleased them to report all of this to Darius, but to take no action until he replied to them.)

⁶ This is the exemplar of the epistle, which Tatnai, duke of the country beyond the flood, and Shetharboznai, and his counsellors, (the) Apharsachites, which were beyond the flood, sent to king Darius. (This is the text of the letter, which Tatnai, the governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shetharboznai, and his counsellors, or his officials, the Apharsachites, who also lived there in the province west of the Euphrates River, sent to King Darius.)

⁷ The word which they sent to him was written thus; All peace be to king Darius.

⁸ Be it known to the king, that we went to the province of Judea, to the house of [the] great God, which is (being) builded (again) with stone(s) unpolished, and wood (that) be set in the walls thereof, and that (the) work is builded diligently, and increaseth in the hands of them. (Be it known to the king, that we went to the province of Judah, to the House of the great God, which is being rebuilt with unpolished stones, and timber that be set in its walls, and that the work is being diligently done, and progresseth under their hands.)

⁹ Therefore we asked those eld(er) men, and thus we said to them, Who gave to you power to build (again) this house, and to restore these walls? (And so we asked those elders, and we said to them thus, Who gave you the authority to rebuild this House, and to restore these walls?)

¹⁰ But also we asked of them their names, that we should tell to thee; and we have written the names of those men, which they be, that be princes among them. (And we also asked them their names, so that we could tell them to thee; and we have listed the names of those men, who they be, who be the leaders of this work.)

¹¹ Soothly they answered by such (a) word, and said, We be the servants of (the) God of heaven and of earth; and we build (again) the temple that was builded before these many years, and which temple the great king of Israel had builded, and made (and we rebuild the Temple that was built here many years ago, which Temple the great king of Israel had built and furnished).

¹² But after that our fathers had stirred [the] God of heaven and of earth to wrathfulness, he betook them in(to) the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, (the) Chaldean, king of Babylon; and he destroyed this house, and translated the people thereof into Babylon (and carried off the people to Babylon).

¹³ And in the first year of Cyrus, king of Babylon, this Cyrus, king of Babylon, putted forth a commandment, that the house of God should be builded (again).

¹⁴ For why king Cyrus brought forth from the temple of Babylon also the golden and silveren vessels of God’s temple, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple, that was in Jerusalem, and had borne those away into the temple of Babylon, and those vessels were given to Sheshbazzar, by name, whom he made also prince (of Judah). (And King Cyrus brought forth from the temple in Babylon the gold and the silver vessels of the Temple of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple that was in Jerusalem, and had carried them away to that temple in Babylon, and those vessels were given to Sheshbazzar, by name, whom Cyrus had appointed to be the governor of Judah.)

¹⁵ And Cyrus said to him, Take these vessels, and go, and set them in the temple, that is in Jerusalem; and be the house of God builded (again) in the place where it was. (And Cyrus said to him, Take these vessels, and go, and put them in the Temple, that is in Jerusalem; and let the House of God be rebuilt in the place where it once was.)

¹⁶ Therefore then that Sheshbazzar came, and setted the foundaments of God’s temple in Jerusalem; and from that time till to now it is builded, and it is not yet fulfilled. (And so then that Sheshbazzar came, and laid the foundation of the Temple of God in Jerusalem; and from that time until now it is being rebuilt, but it is not yet finished.)

¹⁷ Now therefore, if it seemeth good to the king, reckon he in the biblet of the king, which is in Babylon, whether it be commanded of king Cyrus, that God’s house should be builded (again) in Jerusalem; and send he to us the will of the king on this thing. (And so now, if it seemeth good to the king, let a search be made in the library, or in the archives, of the king, which is there in Babylon, to determine whether it was commanded by King Cyrus, that the House of God should be rebuilt in Jerusalem, or not; and then send he to us the desire of the king on this matter.)

6 Then king Darius commanded, and they reckoned, or sought, in the biblet of books, which books were kept in Babylon. (Then King Darius commanded, and they searched through the books in the library, or in the archives, which books were kept in Babylon.)

² And one book was found in Ecbatana, which is a castle in the province of Media, and such a sentence of the king was written therein. (But one book was found in the city of Achmetha, in the province of Media, in the castle there, and this statement about the king was written in it;)

³ In the first year of king Cyrus, Cyrus the king deemed, or ordained, that the house of God, which is in Jerusalem, should be builded (again) in the place where they offer(ed) sacrifices, and that they set (a) foundament supporting the height of sixty cubits, and the length of sixty cubits, (In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus ordained that the House of God, which was in Jerusalem, should be rebuilt in the place where they had offered sacrifices, and that they lay a foundation to support a height of sixty cubits, and a length of sixty cubits,)

⁴ and set they three orders of stones unpolished, and so the orders of new wood. And costs thereto should be given of the king’s house. (and build they the walls out of three rows, or three layers, of unpolished stones, and one row, or one layer, of new timber. And let its costs, or its expenses, be paid out of the king’s treasury.)

⁵ But also the golden and silveren vessels of God’s temple, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple of Jerusalem, and brought them to Babylon, be they yielded, and borne again into the temple of Jerusalem, and into their place, which vessels also be set in the temple of God. (And also let the gold and the silver vessels from the Temple of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple in Jerusalem, and brought to Babylon, be given back, and returned to the Temple in Jerusalem, to be put again in their proper place in the Temple of God.)

⁶ Now therefore Tatnai, duke of the country that is beyond the flood, and Shetharboznai, and your counsellors, (the) Apharsachites, which be beyond the flood, depart ye far (away) from them; (And so now Tatnai, the governor of the province that is west of the Euphrates River, and Shetharboznai, and your counsellors, or your officials, the Apharsachites, who also live there in the province west of the Euphrates River, should go far away from these people, that is, they should leave them alone;)

⁷ and suffer ye, that that temple of God be made of the duke of (the) Jews, and of the elder men of them; and that they build (again) that house of God in his place. (and allow ye, that the Temple of God be rebuilt by the leader of the Jews, and their elders; yea, that they rebuild the House of God there in its place.)

⁸ But also it is commanded of me, that that behooveth to be made of those priests of (the) Jews, that the house of God be builded (again); that is, that costs be given busily to those men (out) of the ark, (or the coffer,) of the king, that is, of the tributes, that be given of the country beyond the flood, lest the work be hindered. (And it is also commanded by me, what behooveth to be done for those elders of the Jews, so that the House of God can be rebuilt; that is, that their costs, or their expenses, be given to them out of the king’s treasury, that is, from the taxes paid in the province west of the Euphrates River, so that the work shall not be hindered, or interrupted.)

⁹ That if it be needed, give they both calves, and lambs, and kids into burnt sacrifice to [the] God of heaven; (and also that) wheat, (and) salt, and wine, and oil, by the custom of (the) priests that be in Jerusalem, be given to them by each day, that no complaint be in any thing. (And that whatever the priests who be in Jerusalem need, give it to them, yea, calves, and lambs, and goat kids for the burnt sacrifices to the God of heaven; and also wheat, and salt, and wine, and oil, yea, whatever is needed for each day, so that no complaint be made about anything.)

¹⁰ And (then) offer they offerings to [the] God of heaven; and (also) pray they for the life of the king, and of his sons.

¹¹ Therefore this sentence is set of me, that if any man change this behest, a (piece of) wood be taken of his house, and be it raised up, and be he hanged thereon; soothly his house be forfeited. (And so this decree is given by me, that if anyone change this command, a piece of timber be taken from his house, and it be raised up, and let him be hanged upon it; and then his house be forfeited.)

¹² And God, that maketh his name to dwell there, destroy all the realms and people, that hold forth their hand to impugn and destroy that house of God, which is in Jerusalem. I Darius have deemed the sentence, which I will (to) be fulfilled diligently (I, Darius, have given this decree, which I command to be diligently fulfilled).

¹³ Therefore Tatnai, duke of the country beyond the flood, and Shetharboznai, and his counsellors, did execution, either fulfilled, so diligently, by that that king Darius had commanded. (And so Tatnai, the governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shetharboznai, and his counsellors, or his officials, diligently fulfilled what King Darius had commanded.)

¹⁴ Soothly the elder men of (the) Jews builded (the Temple), and had prosperity, by the prophecy of Haggai, the prophet, and (the prophecy) of Zechariah, the son of Iddo; and they builded (it), and made (it), for [the] God of Israel commanded (it), and for Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia, (also) commanded (it);

¹⁵ and they performed this house of God till to the third day of the month Adar, which is (in) the sixth year of the realm of king Darius. (and they finished this House of God on the third day of the month of Adar, or March, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.)

¹⁶ And the sons of Israel, the priests and (the) deacons, and the others of the sons of (the) transmigration, that is, of them that came from the transmigration, made the hallowing of God’s house in joy; (And the Israelites, yea, the priests, and the Levites, and the others of the sons of the captivity, dedicated the House of God with great joy;)

¹⁷ and offered, in the hallowing of God’s house, an hundred calves, two hundred wethers, four hundred lambs, (and) twelve bucks of goats for the sin of all Israel, by the number of the lineages of Israel. (and offered, for the dedication of the House of God, a hundred calves, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs, and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve goat bucks, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.)

¹⁸ And they ordained (the) priests in their orders, and deacons in their whiles (and the Levites in their divisions), upon the works of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.

¹⁹ And the sons of (the) transmigration made pask, in the fourteenth day of the first month. (And the sons of the captivity kept, or observed, the Passover on the fourteen day of the first month.)

²⁰ For the priests and deacons as one man were cleansed, all they were (made) clean to offer pask to all the sons of (the) transmigration, and to their brethren (the) priests, and to themselves. (For all the priests and the Levites cleansed themselves, yea, they were all purified, and then they killed the Passover lamb for all the sons of the captivity, and for their fellow priests, and for themselves.)

²¹ And the sons of Israel ate, that turned again from the transmigration, and each man ate, that had separated himself from all the defouling of heathen men of the land, for to seek the Lord God of Israel. (And then the Israelites, who had returned from the captivity, and also each man who had separated himself from all the defiling of the heathen of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel, ate the Passover.)

²² And they made the solemnity of therf loaves seven days in gladness (And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy); for the Lord had made them glad, and had turned the heart of the king of Assur to them, (so) that he would help their hands in the work of the house of the Lord God of Israel.

⁵ What therefore is Apollos, and what Paul? They be ministers of him, to whom ye have believed; and to each man as God hath given.

⁶ I planted, Apollos moisted [Apollos watered, or moisted], but God gave increasing.

⁷ Therefore [And so] neither he that planteth is any thing, neither he that moisteth, but God that giveth increasing.

⁸ And he that planteth, and he that moisteth, be one; and each shall take his own meed, after his travail.

⁹ For we be the helpers of God; ye be the earth-tilling of God, ye be the building of God.

¹⁰ After the grace of God that is given to me, as a wise master carpenter I setted the foundament [I set the foundament]; and another buildeth above. But each man see, how he buildeth above [how and what things he buildeth upon].

¹¹ For no man may set another foundament, except that that is set [besides that that is set], which is Christ Jesus.

¹² For if any man buildeth over this foundament, gold, silver, precious stones, sticks, hay, or stubble, [Forsooth if any man build upon this foundament, gold, silver, precious stones, sticks, hay, stubble,]

¹³ every man's work shall be open; for the day of the Lord shall declare, for it shall be showed in fire; the fire shall prove the work of each man, what manner work it is [what manner it is].

¹⁴ If the work of any man dwell still, which he builded above [which he builded upon], he shall receive meed.

¹⁵ If any man's work burn, he shall suffer harm [If any man's work shall burn, he shall suffer impairing]; but he shall be safe, so nevertheless as by fire.

¹⁶ Know ye not, that ye be the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

¹⁷ And if any [man] defouleth the temple of God, God shall destroy him [God shall lose him]; for the temple of God is holy, which ye be.

¹⁸ No man deceive himself. If any man among you is seen to be wise in this world, be he made a fool, that he be wise.

¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is folly with God; for it is written, I shall catch wise men in their fell wisdom [I shall catch wise men in their fell wisdom, or subtle guile];

²⁰ and again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of wise men, for those be vain [for they be vain].

²¹ Therefore no man have glory in men [And so no man glory in men]. For all things be yours,

²² either Paul, either Apollos, either Cephas, either the world, either life, either death, either things present, either things to coming [either things to come]; for all things be yours,

²³ and ye be of Christ, and Christ is of God.

29 The psalm of David. Ye sons of God, bring to the Lord; bring ye to the Lord, the sons of rams. Bring ye to the Lord glory and honour; (The song of David. Ye sons of God, acknowledge to the Lord; acknowledge to the Lord, ye mighty sons. Acknowledge ye the glory and the strength of the Lord;)

² bring ye to the Lord glory to his name; praise ye the Lord in his holy large place. (acknowledge to the Lord the glory due his name; bow ye down before the Lord in his holy Temple/bow ye down before the Lord in the beauty of his holiness.)

³ The voice of the Lord on waters, God of majesty thundered; the Lord on many waters. (The voice of the Lord is heard upon the waters, the God of glory thundered/the majestic God thundered; the Lord is heard upon the many waters.)

⁴ The voice of the Lord in virtue; the voice of the Lord in great doing. (The voice of the Lord is strong; the majestic voice of the Lord.)

⁵ The voice of the Lord breaking cedars; and the Lord shall break the cedars of Lebanon. (The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.)

⁶ And he shall all-break them to dust, as a calf of the Lebanon; and the darling was as the son of an unicorn. (And he maketh Lebanon to jump like a calf; and Sirion to leap like a young wild ox.)

⁷ The voice of the Lord parting the flame(s) of fire; (The voice of the Lord sendeth out flashes of lightning;)

⁸ the voice of the Lord shaking desert; and the Lord shall stir (al)together the desert of Kadesh. (the voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; yea, the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.)

⁹ The voice of the Lord making ready harts (to calve), and he shall show thick things; and in his temple all men shall say glory. (The voice of the Lord maketh the harts to calve, and bringeth the goat kids early to their birth; and in his Temple everyone shall shout, Glory!)

¹⁰ The Lord maketh to inhabit the great flood; and the Lord shall sit king (into) without end. (The Lord ruleth over the great flood/The Lord ruleth over the deep waters; and the Lord shall sit as King forever.)

¹¹ The Lord shall give virtue to his people; the Lord shall bless his people in peace. (The Lord shall give strength to his people; the Lord shall bless his people with peace.)

²⁶ A wise king scattereth wicked men; and boweth a bow of victory, that is, a stone bow, over them.

²⁷ The lantern of the Lord is the spirit of man, that seeketh out all the privates of the womb. (The spirit of people is the lantern of the Lord, and it seeketh out all our innermost secrets.)