Biblia the Byble, that is, the holy Scrypture of the Olde and New Testament, faithfully translated in to Englyshe.

The VI. Chapter.

[ A] NOt w^t stondinge, in the seconde yeare of the raigne of Darius,* 1.1 Aggeus & Zachary the sonne of Addo prophe∣cied vpon them in Iewry and Ierusalem, in the name of the God of Israel. Then Zoro∣babel the sonne of Salathiel and Iesua the sonne of Iosedec stode vp,* 1.2 and beganne to buylde the house of the LORDE at Ierusa∣lem, when the prophetes of the LORDE hel¦ped them.

At the same tyme came Sysennes the vn∣der shreue in Syria and Phenices, with the landlordes and his companyons, and sayde vnto them: Who hath bydden & commaun∣ded you to buylde the house? to make the ro∣fe and all other thinges agayne? And who are the worke men, that buylde them? Ne∣uertheles the elders of the Iewes had soch grace of the LORDE, that they wolde not be lett (though they were prouoked therto) but buylded on still, vntill the tyme that kynge Darius were certified therof, and an answe¦re receaued from him. The letter that these men sent vnto kynge Darius, was after this maner:

Sysennes the vnder shreue in Syria and [ B] Phenices, and the landlordes with their cō∣paniōs, which are head rulers in Syria and Phenices, sende their salutacion vnto Dari∣us the kynge. We certifie oure lorde the kyn∣ge, that we came in to the londe of Iewry, & wente to Ierusalem: where we founde them buyldinge the greate house of God and the tēple, with greate costly frestone and with goodly tymbre for the walles: yee they make greate haist with the worke, & helpe one ano¦ther, and it goeth forth prosperously in their handes, and with greate diligence & worshi¦pe is it made. Then axed we the elders, who had cōmaunded them to make vp the house and the buyldinge: and this we dyd, to y^e in∣tēt that we might certifie the perfectly, and wryte vnto the, the names of those y^t were y^e rulers of the worke. So they gaue vs this answere: we are the seruauntes of the LOR¦DE, which made heauen and earth: & as for this house,* 1.3 it hath bene buylded and set vp afore tyme by the greate and mightie kynge of Israel. But whan oure fathers prouoked God vnto wrath, & synned agaynst the God of Israel,* 1.4 he gaue thē ouer in to the power of Nabuchodonosor kynge of Babilon the kynge of the Caldees, which brake downe y^e house and brēt it, and caried awaye the peo∣ple presoners vnto Babilon.

Neuertheles, in the first yeare that kynge [ C] Cyrus reigned at Babilon,* 1.5 Cyrus the kynge wrote and commaunded to buylde vp this house agayne: and all the ornamentes that Nabuchodonosor caried awaye from Ieru¦salem vnto Babilon, and appropriated vnto

his owne temple: those brought Cyrus forth agayne, and delyuered them to Zorobabel & to Salmanasar the vndershreue, commaun∣dynge them, y^t they shulde brynge those sa∣me ornamentes agayne to Ierusalē in to y^e tē¦ple, & to begynne from y^t tyme forth, to buyl∣de the tēple agayne in his owne place. Thē Salmanasar layed the foundacion of y^e LOR¦DES house at Ierusalem, and euer sence haue they buylded, & yet is it not ended. And ther∣fore (O kynge) yf thou thynkest it good, let it be sought in the Lybraries & rolles of kynge Cyrus: yf it be founde thē, that it is done w^t the councell and cōsent of kynge Cyrus, and yf oure lorde y^e kynge be so mynded, let him wryte vnto vs therof.

[ D] Then cōmaunded kinge Darius, to seke in the Lybraries:* 1.6 and so at Egbathanis in a litle cite in Media there was founde soch a wrytinge: In the first yeare of the raigne of Cyrus, the same kynge Cyrus cōmaunded, y^t the house of the LORDE at Ierusalem shul¦de be buylded agayne (& odoures to be made there contynually vnto the LORDE) whose heyth shalbe ten cubites, y^e bredth lx. cubites & iiij. square w^t thre hewen stones, w^t a lofte of tymbre of the same countre, yee w^t a new loft, & the expenses therof to be geuen of y^e house of kynge Cyrus. And the ornamētes of golde & syluer, y^t Nabuchodonosor toke out of the house of the LORDE at Ierusalem, shalbe set agayne in the temple at Ierusalē, where they were afore. Sysennes also the vndershreue in Syria and Phenices, y^e pryn¦ces and their companyons, and the other y^t be head rulers in Syria and Phenices, shall not medle ner haue eny thinge to do with that place.

[ E] I Cyrus haue cōmaunded also, that they shal buylde the house of the LORDE whole vp: & haue ordeyned them, to helpe those y^t be come out of captiuyte, tyll the house of the LORDE be fynished: & out of the trybute and taxinge that is yearly raysed vp in Sy∣ria and Phenices, diligently to geue them a certayne summe, to the offerynge of the LOR¦DE: and the same to be delyuered vnto Zoro∣babel the officer: that he therwithall maye ordeyne oxen, rammes, lambes, & corne, salt, wyne and oyle, and that contynually euery yeare: after the expences which the prestes that be at Ierusalem, shew to be made day∣lie:* 1.7 this shalbe geuen vnto them without de¦laye, that they maye offer sacrifices daylie to the hyest God, for the kynge and for his seruauntes, and to praye for their lyues. Let it be proclamed also on euery syde, that who o euer breaketh or despyseth this cōmaunde¦ment of y^e kynge, shalbe hanged vpon a ga∣low (made of his owne good) & all his goo∣des shalbe seasoned vnto y^e kynge. The LOR¦DE therfore (whose name is there called v∣pon) rote out and destroye all y^e kynges and people, that vndertake by violence to hyn∣der the same, or to deale vncurteously w^t the house of the LORDE at Ierusalem. I Darius the kinge haue ordeyned, that these thinges shalbe done with all diligence.

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Notes

• * 1.1

  Es. 5. a
• * 1.2

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• * 1.3

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• * 1.4

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• * 1.5

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• * 1.6

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• * 1.7

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