23 King Darius ordered someone to go through the old records kept in Babylonia. Finally, a scroll was found in Ecbatana, a fortress city in Media Province, and it said: 24 In the first year Cyrus was king, 25 The temple is to be built 2,670 meters high and 2,670 meters wide, with one row of new wooden beams for each three rows of large stones. The wood is to come from the region near Jerusalem. The royal treasury will pay for everything. 26 Gather together all the sacred gold and silver things that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylonia. Then return these things to their proper places.

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version ®. Copyright © 1995 American Bible Society. Used by permission.