32. Gentlemen, aren’t women powerful, since they can do such things?"
33. The king and the officials looked at each other, and the third young man began to speak about truth:
34. "Gentlemen, aren’t women strong? The earth is great, heaven is high, and the sun is swift in its course, for it circles the heavens and returns again to its place in a single day.
35. Isn’t the one who does these things great? Yet truth is also great and superior still to all of these things.
36. The whole earth calls on truth, and heaven praises it. All of heaven’s works move and tremble at the sight of it, and there’s nothing wrong with truth.
37. You can’t trust wine; you can’t trust the king; you can’t trust women. No human beings are trustworthy. Everything they do is wrong. There is no truth in them. They will perish in their lies.
38. But truth endures and is valid for all time; it lives and succeeds forever.
39. With it there’s no charade or preference, but it does what is right instead of what is wrong or evil. Everyone approves of its deeds. There’s nothing unjust in its judgment.
40. To it belongs the strength, the royalty, the authority, and the greatness of all ages. Bless God’s truth!"
41. He stopped speaking, and all the people cried out, "Great is truth and superior to all!"
42. Then the king said to Zerubbabel, "Ask for whatever you like, even more than what was proposed, and we’ll give it to you, for you’ve been found to be the wisest one. You may sit next to me and be called my confidant."
43. Zerubbabel said to the king, "Remember the promise that you made to rebuild Jerusalem on the day that you became king.
44. You promised to send back all the holy equipment that was taken from Jerusalem, which Cyrus set apart when he promised to destroy Babylon and also promised to send it back there.
45. You also solemnly swore to rebuild the temple, which was burned down by the Edomites when Judea was devastated by the Chaldeans.
46. Now Master and King, this is what I ask and request of you, something that is fitting for your greatness. I beg you to fulfill the pledge you solemnly swore to the king of heaven with your own mouth."
47. Then King Darius stood up and kissed him. He wrote letters for him to all the treasurers, district governors, generals, and administrators so that they would send him out and all those who were going up with him to rebuild Jerusalem.
48. He wrote letters to all the district governors in Coele-Syria and Phoenicia and to those in Lebanon, to bring cedar timber from Lebanon to Jerusalem and to help him rebuild the city.