1Then the second, who had spoken about the strength of the king, began to speak.
2“O men, are not human beings the strongest, ruling over the land and the sea and everything in them?
3But the king is stronger than them; he rules over them and is their master, and they obey whatever he tells them.
4If he tells them to make war on one another, they do it. If he sends them out against the enemy, they go and demolish mountains, walls, and towers.
5They kill and are killed, and they do not transgress the king’s command. If they are victorious, they bring everything to the king—whatever they plunder and all the rest.
6And as for those who do not serve as soldiers or make war but farm the land, when they sow and then reap, they bring the harvest to the king. They even compel one another to bring the taxes to the king.
7And he is only one man. If he says to kill, they kill; if he says to spare, they spare.
8If he says to strike, they strike; if he says to lay waste, they lay waste; if he says to build, they build.
9If he says to cut down, they cut down; if he says to plant, they plant.
10And all his people and his armies obey him. Moreover, he himself reclines, eats, drinks, and sleeps;
11but they keep watch around him, and not one of them can go away to do his own work, nor do they disobey him.
12O men, how is the king not the strongest, seeing that he is obeyed in this way?” And he fell silent.
13Then the third, who had spoken about women and the truth—this was Zerubbabel—began to speak:
14“Men, is not the king great, and are not human beings many, and is not wine strong? Who then is their master, or who is it that rules them? Is it not women?
15Women gave birth to the king and to all the people who rule the sea and the land.
16From them they came, and they nourished those who planted the vineyards from which wine is made.
17They make men’s garments, and they bring men glory, and men cannot exist without women.
18If men gather gold and silver and every kind of beautiful thing, and then see one woman who is beautiful in form and appearance,
19they leave all these things behind and gape at her; with open mouths they gaze at her, and all of them desire her more than gold and silver and every beautiful thing.
20A man will forsake his own father who raised him and his own country, and will cling to his own wife,
21and with his wife he yields up his soul, remembering neither father nor mother nor country.
22From this you must realize that women rule over you. Do you not labor and toil, and then give and bring everything to your wives?
23A man takes his sword and goes out on expeditions to rob and to steal, and to sail the sea and rivers.
24He faces the lion and walks in darkness; and when he has stolen, seized, and plundered, he brings it to his beloved.
25And a man loves his own wife more than his father and mother.
26Many have lost their minds on account of women, and have become slaves for their sake.
27And many have perished, and have stumbled, and have sinned on account of women.
28And now, do you not believe me? Is not the king great in his authority? Do not all lands fear to touch him?
29I have seen him with Apame, the daughter of the admirable Bartacus, the king’s concubine, sitting at the king’s right hand,
30and taking the diadem from the king’s head and placing it on her own; and she would slap the king with her left hand.
31And besides this, the king would gaze at her with his mouth open; and if she smiled at him, he smiled back. But if she was angry with him, he would flatter her so that she might be reconciled to him.
32O men, are women not strong, since they behave in this way?”
33And then the king and the nobles were looking at one another. And he began to speak about truth:
34“Men, are not women strong? Great is the earth, and high is the heaven, and swift is the sun in its course, for it turns in the circle of heaven and runs back again to its own place in a single day.
35Is not the one who does these things great? And truth is great and stronger than all things.
36All the earth calls upon truth, and heaven blesses it, and all works are shaken and tremble, and with him there is nothing unjust.
37Unjust is wine, unjust is the king, unjust are women, unjust are all the sons of men, and unjust are all their works and all such things. There is no truth in them, and in their injustice they will perish.
38But truth remains and is strong forever, and it lives and prevails forever and ever.
39And with it there is no showing of partiality or favoritism; rather, it does what is just and avoids all unjust and wicked things. And all people are pleased with its works,
40and in its judgment there is nothing unjust. To it belong the strength, the kingdom, the authority, and the majesty of all ages. Blessed be the God of truth.”
41And he stopped speaking. And all the people then shouted and said, “Great is truth, and it prevails!”
42Then the king said to him, “Ask for whatever you wish, even more than what was written, and we will give it to you, because you have been found wisest. You will sit next to me and be called my kinsman.”
43Then he said to the king, “Remember the vow you made to build Jerusalem on the day you received your kingdom,
44and to send back all the vessels taken from Jerusalem, which Cyrus set apart when he vowed to destroy Babylon and vowed to send them back there.
45You also vowed to build the temple which the Judeans burned when Judea was laid waste by the Chaldeans.
46And now this is what I ask, O lord king, and what I request of you, and this is the great favor I ask from you: I beg you, therefore, to fulfill the vow that you vowed with your own mouth to the King of heaven.”
47Then Darius the king stood up and kissed him, and he wrote letters for him to all the treasurers, local governors, commanders, and satraps, that they should escort him and all those going up with him to build Jerusalem.
48He also wrote letters to all the local governors in Coele-Syria and Phoenicia, and to those in Lebanon, to transport cedar logs from Lebanon to Jerusalem, and to build the city with him.
49And he wrote to all the Jews who were going up from his kingdom to Judea concerning their freedom, that no official, satrap, local governor, or treasurer should force an entrance to their doors,
50and that all the country they would possess should be tax-free for them; and that the Chaldeans should give up the villages belonging to the Jews which they were holding.
51and that twenty talents should be given annually for the building of the sanctuary, until it was built;
52and for the altar, for whole burnt offerings to be offered daily, as they have a command to offer seventeen, another ten talents annually.
53And for all who go up from Babylonia to build the city, freedom shall be granted to them and their children, and to all the priests who go up.
54He also wrote concerning the allowance and the priestly vestments in which they were to minister.
55And for the Levites he wrote that their allowance should be given until the day the house was finished and Jerusalem was built.
56And for all who guarded the city, he wrote that they should be given land allotments and wages.
57And he sent away all the vessels that Cyrus had set apart from Babylon; and everything that Cyrus had ordered to be done, he also commanded to be done and sent to Jerusalem.
58And when the young man went out, he lifted his face to heaven toward Jerusalem and blessed the King of heaven, saying:
59“From you comes victory, and from you comes wisdom, and yours is the glory, and I am your servant.
60Blessed are you, who has given me wisdom. And to you I give thanks, O Master of our fathers.”
61And he took the letters and went out to Babylon, and reported to all his brothers.
62And they blessed the God of their fathers, because he gave them relief and permission:
63to go up and build Jerusalem and the temple where his name was invoked. And they feasted with music and joy for seven days.
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