Ezra 5
1 Te vaengah tonghma Haggai neh tonghma Iddo capa Zekhariah te tonghma rhoi. Amih rhoi tah a soah Israel Pathen ming a phuk thil Judah neh Jerusalem kah Yahudi tonghma rhoek ni.
At that time two prophets gave messages from God to the Jews in Jerusalem and [other cities in] Judah. The prophets were Haggai and Zechariah, who was a descendant of Iddo. They spoke those messages representing God, whom the Israelis [worshiped/belonged to], the one who was their true king.
2 Te vaengah Shaeltiel capa Zerubbabel neh Jozadak capa Jeshua te thoo tih Jerusalem kah Pathen im sak ham te a tong uh. Pathen tonghma rhoek khaw amih rhoi taengah om tih amih rhoi te a bom uh.
Then Zerubbabel and Shealtiel [led many other people] as they started [again] to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. And God’s prophets [Haggai and Zechariah] were with them and helped them.
3 Te vaeng tue ah amih taengla sok paem boei Tattenai, Shetharboznai neh a hui rhoek te cet. Te phoeiah amih te, “He im sak ham neh he imbang coeng ham nangmih taengah saithainah aka pae te unim?
Then Tattenai the governor of the province west of the [Euphrates] River and Shethar-Bozenai his assistant and [some of] their officials went to Jerusalem and said to the people, “Who has permitted you to rebuild this temple and put furnishings in it?”
4 He im aka sa hlang rhoek ming te amih taengah ka thui uh bal coeng,” a ti uh.
They also requested the people to tell them the names of the men who were working [at the temple]. [But the people refused].
5 Tedae amih kah Pathen mik loh Yahudi a hamca rhoek a om thil dongah Darius taengla hlangcal pawk tih te ham te ca a mael hlan hil amih te paa sak pawh.
However, God was taking care of the Jewish leaders, so their enemies were not able to prevent the people from continuing [to rebuild the temple]. [They continued to work while their enemies] sent a report to King Darius, and asked him [what he wanted them to do] about it.
6 Sok paem boei Tattenai, Shetharboznai neh a hui rhoek, sok paem kah boei rhoek loh Darius manghai taengla ca tlaep te a pat.
So Tattenai and Shethar-Bozenai and their officials sent a report to King Darius.
7 Anih taengla ol a pat uh vaengah a khui ah he tlam he a daek. Darius manghai taengah ngaimongnah boeih om saeh.
This is what they wrote: “King Darius, we hope that things are going well for you!
8 Judah paeng kah boeilen Pathen im la ka caeh te manghai taengah mingpha saeh. Te te lung nu a sak uh tih thoh khuiah thing neh a pae. Imsak he tluem tluem a saii tih a kut dongah bi khaw song.
[“We want you to know that] we went to Judah Province, where the temple of the great God is being rebuilt. The people are building it with huge stones, and they are putting wooden beams in the walls. The work is being done very carefully, and they are progressing well.
9 A hamca rhoek te ka dawt tangloeng bal tih amih te, “He im sak ham neh imbang he coeng ham nangmih taengah saithainah aka pae te unim?” ka ti uh.
“We asked the Jewish leaders, ‘Who has permitted you to rebuild this temple and put furnishings in it?’
10 Nang taengah mingpha sak ham amih te a ming khaw ka dawt uh. Amih lu soah hlang rhoek ming te khaw ka daek uh hamla.
And we requested them to tell us the names of their leaders, in order that we could tell you who they were.
11 Tedae ol te kaimih taengla ham mael uh tih amamih te, “Kaimih tah vaan neh diklai Pathen kah a tueihyoeih rhoek ni. Im a sak he hlamat kum a yet lamloh sak tangtae om coeng. Israel kah manghai boeilen loh a sak tih a coeng.
“But [instead of telling us their leaders’ names, ] what they said was, ‘We serve the God [who created] the heaven and the earth. Many years ago a great king [who ruled] us Israeli people [told our ancestors to] build a temple here, and now we are rebuilding it.
12 Tedae a pa rhoek loh vaan Pathen te a veet uh lamloh amih te Khalden kah Babylon manghai Nebukhadnezzar kut ah a paek. Te vaengah im he a khaih tih pilnam he Babylon la a khuen.
“'But God, [who rules] in heaven, allowed [the armies of] Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylonia, to destroy that temple, because our ancestors did things that caused God to become very angry. Nebuchadnezzar’s army took [many of] the [Israeli] people to Babylonia.
13 Babylon manghai Cyrus kah kah kum ah tah manghai Cyrus loh Pathen im he sak hamla saithainah a paek.
“'However, during the first year that Cyrus the King of Babylon started to rule, he decreed that the temple of God should be rebuilt.
14 Pathen im kah hnopai pataeng sui neh cak khaw Jerusalem bawkim lamkah te, Nebukhadnezzar loh a loh tih Babylon kah bawkim la a khuen. Te te Cyrus manghai loh Babylon bawkim lamkah a loh. Te phoeiah a ming Sheshbazzar la a khue tih boei la a khueh taengah a paek uh.
Cyrus returned [to the Jewish leaders] all the gold and silver cups that had been taken from the temple in Jerusalem and which had been put in the temple in Babylon. Those cups were given to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom King Cyrus had appointed to be the governor in Judah.
15 Te phoeiah anih te, “Hnopai he khuen lamtah cet laeh. Te Jerusalem kah bawkim ah khueh laeh. Pathen im khaw amah hmuen ah sa saeh,” a ti nah.
“'The king instructed him to take the cups back to Jerusalem, to the place [from which they had previously been taken]. He also decreed that they should rebuild the temple at the place where it had been before. So Cyrus appointed Sheshbazzar to be the governor in Judah. He also sent all those things made of gold and silver, for Sheshbazzar to put in the new temple.
16 Sheshbazzar cet tangloeng tih Jerusalem kah Pathen im te khoengim a tloeng. Te lamlong tah tahae hil a sak uh dae coeng uh pawh.
So Sheshbazzar did that. He came here to Jerusalem, and [supervised the men who] laid the foundation of the temple. And since that time, the people have been working on the temple, but it is not finished yet.’
17 Manghai ham khaw a ngaih coeng mak atah Babylon manghai kah cabu im kah te pahoi thoelh saeh. Jerusalem ah Pathen im sak hamla manghai Cyrus lamloh saithainah a paek te a om khaming. Te dongah manghai kah a ngaihnah mah kaimih taengla ham pat saeh.
“Therefore, your majesty, please order someone to search in the place in Babylon where the important records are kept, to find out whether [it is true that] King Cyrus decreed that God’s temple should be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Then you can tell us what you want us to do about this matter.”
