Ezra 6:1

Thus King Darius ordered a search of the archives stored in the treasury of Babylon.

BSB

Parallel translations

4 additional translations

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KJV

Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon.

ASV

Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the archives, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon.

YLT

Then Darius the king made a decree, and they sought in the house of the books of the treasuries placed there in Babylon,

DBT

Then king Darius gave orders, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon.

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Commentary voices

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Voices6

On this verse

Then King Darius commanded, etc. Josephus (Antiq. XI, 3) mentioned the name of the place where these letters of Cyrus were found thus: And a book was found in Ecbatana in a constructed tower, in the region of Media. Moreover, another translation has it thus: …

Bede· Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah, 735patristic

Related commentary

Then Darius the king made a decree,....

John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)reformed

A house of the rolls was discovered at Koyunjik, the ancient Nineveh, in 1850 - a set of chambers, i. e., in the palace devoted exclusively to the storing of public documents. These were in baked clay, and covered the floor to the depth of more than a foot. Such a house was probably that at Babylon.

Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)evangelical

The cuneiform characters on most of them were singularly sharp and well-defined, but so minute in some instances as to be almost illegible without a magnifying glass.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871reformed

A decree - To search the rolls in Babylon, where search was first made; but not finding the edict there, they searched in Achmetha, or Ecbatana, and found it.

John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, 1765evangelical

But, when it was not found there, Darius did not make that a pretence to conclude that therefore there was no such decree, and thereupon to give judgment against the Jews; but it is probable, having himself heard that such a decree was certainly made, he ordered the rolls in other places to be searched, and at length it was found at Achmetha, in the province of the Medes,

Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan

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Cross-references

18 linked verses

The verses this one reaches12

Ezra 5:17
Now, therefore, if it pleases the king, let a search be made of the royal archives in Babylon to see if King Cyrus did indeed issue a decree to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.
Ezra 4:15
that a search should be made of the record books of your fathers. In these books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, inciting sedition from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed.
Proverbs 25:2
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out.
Ezra 7:13
I hereby decree that any volunteers among the Israelites in my kingdom, including the priests and Levites, may go up with you to Jerusalem.
Daniel 9:25
Know and understand this: From the issuance of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until the Messiah, the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of distress.
Psalms 40:7
Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll:
Job 29:16
I was a father to the needy, and I took up the case of the stranger.
Jeremiah 36:32
Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and at Jeremiah’s dictation he wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.
Jeremiah 36:29
You are to proclaim concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah that this is what the LORD says: You have burned the scroll and said, ‘Why have you written on it that the king of Babylon would surely come and destroy this land and deprive it of man and beast?’
Ezra 4:19
I issued a decree, and a search was conducted. It was discovered that this city has revolted against kings from ancient times, engaging in rebellion and sedition.
Jeremiah 36:2–4
“Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you during the reign of Josiah until today.
Ezekiel 2:9
Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me, and in it was a scroll,

6 more linked verses are grouped by book below ↓

Cross-references

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The quotation web

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Original language

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Around this verse

Word doors

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

Who & where

PlaceBabil Governorate (archaeological site)BabylonAncient Mesopotamian city and imperial capital; site of the Israelite exile and a recurring biblical symbol of worldly power.

Featured studies

Featured studyThe Seventy Weeks — Daniel 9:24–27This study walks through this verse.

About this book

Ezra Kneels in Prayer — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Ezra — The return in two waves — Zerubbabel's altar and temple (538 BC) and Ezra's reforming arrival (458 BC). A book about rebuilding — the temple, the Torah-teaching community, and the covenant boundary.

Canon: Old Testament
Author: Ezra (traditional); the book uses first-person narrative in chs. 7–10
Date: Events 538–458 BC; compilation c. mid-5th century BC

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first — the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Psalms 40:7
Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll:
leads to
- Hebrews 10:7–9
  Then I said, ‘Here I am, it is written about Me in the scroll: I have come to do Your will, O God.’”
- Luke 24:44
  Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets,…
- John 5:39
  You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me,
- Luke 24:27
  And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.
Through
Proverbs 25:2
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out.
leads to
- Deuteronomy 29:29
  The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.
- Romans 11:33–34
  O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!
- Job 11:7–8
  Can you fathom the deep things of God or discover the limits of the Almighty?
- Job 38:4
  Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.

The whole web at once: see the Arc.

Where the connections lead

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