Ezra 5

1 Now Aggeus the prophet, and Zacharias the son of Addo, prophesied to the Jews that were in Judea and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel.

The prophets Haggai and Zechariah, son of Iddo, gave messages to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem from the God of Israel, their ruler.

2 Then rose up Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, and Josue the son of Josedec, and began to build the temple of God in Jerusalem, and with them were the prophets of God helping them.

Then Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, son of Jozadak, decided to start work on rebuilding God's Temple in Jerusalem. The prophets of God encouraged them and helped them.

3 And at the same time came to them Thathanai, who was governor beyond the river, and Stharbuzanai, and their counsellors: and said thus to them: Who hath given you counsel to build this house, and to repair the walls thereof?

Almost immediately Tattenai, the governor of the province west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their fellow officials arrived and asked, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this Temple and finish it?”

4 In answer to which we gave them the names of the men who were the promoters of that building.

Then they asked, “What are the names of the men who are working on this building?”

5 But the eye of their God was upon the ancients of the Jews, and they could not hinder them. And it was agreed that the matter should be referred to Darius, and then they should give satisfaction concerning that accusation.

But their God was watching over the Jewish leaders, so that they were not prevented from working until a report could be sent to Darius and a written reply with instructions was received.

6 The copy of the letter that Thathanai governor of the country beyond the river, and Stharbuzanai, and his counsellors the Arphasachites, who dwelt beyond the river, sent to Darius the king.

The following is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor of the province west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their fellow officials, officials of the province, sent to King Darius.

7 The letter which they sent him, was written thus: To Darius the king all peace.

The report they sent him read went like this: “To King Darius: Greetings.

8 Be it known to the king, that we went to the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which they are building with unpolished stones, and timber is laid in the walls: and this work is carried on diligently, and advanceth in their hands.

We wish to inform Your Majesty that we went to the province of Judah, to the Temple of the great God. It is being built with large stones, with timber beams being placed on the walls. This work is being done properly and is progressing well.

9 And we asked those ancients, and said to them thus: Who hath given you authority to build this house, and to repair these walls?

We questioned the leaders, asking them, ‘Who gave you permission to rebuild this Temple and finish it?’

10 We asked also of them their names, that we might give thee notice: and we have written the names of the men that are the chief among them.

We also asked for their names, so that we could write them down and let you know the names of their leaders.

11 And they answered us in these words, saying: We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are building a temple that was built these many years ago, and which a great king of Israel built and set up.

This is the answer they gave us. ‘We are servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the Temple built and completed many years ago by a great king of Israel.

12 But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, he delivered them into the hands of Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon the Chaldean: and he destroyed this house, and carried away the people to Babylon.

But our forefathers made the God of heaven angry, so he handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this Temple and deported the people to Babylon.

13 But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon, king Cyrus set forth a decree, that this house of God should be built.

However, Cyrus, king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, issued a decree to rebuild this Temple of God.

14 And the vessels also of gold and silver of the temple of God, which Nabuchodonosor had taken out of the temple, that was in Jerusalem, and had brought them to the temple of Babylon, king Cyrus brought out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one Sassabasar, whom also he appointed governor,

He even gave back the gold and silver items belonging to God's Temple, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem and placed in his temple in Babylon. King Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor,

15 And said to him: Take these vessels, and go, and put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built in its place.

telling him, Take these items and place them in the Temple in Jerusalem. Rebuild God's Temple on its original site.

16 Then came this same Sassabasar, and laid the foundations of the temple of God in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it is in building, and is not yet finished.

So Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of God's Temple in Jerusalem. It has been under construction since then, but hasn't yet been completed.’

17 Now therefore if it seem good to the king, let him search in the king’s library, which is in Babylon, whether it hath been decreed by Cyrus the king, that the house of God in Jerusalem should be built, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.

So, if Your Majesty wishes, authorize a search to be made of the royal archives in Babylon to discover if there is a record that King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild God's Temple in Jerusalem. Then please let us know Your Majesty's decision in this matter.”