Ezra 5

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

Then prophesied Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of 'Iddo, the prophets, unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, concerning them.

2 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.

Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealthiel, and Jeshua' the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and with them were the prophets of God helping them.

3 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?”

At this same time came to them Thathnai, the governor on this side of the river, and Shethar-bozenai, and their companions, and thus they said unto them, “Who hath given you an order to build this house, and to complete these walls?”

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

Then said we unto them after this manner, what are the names of the men that erect this building.

5 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.

But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they did not stop them, till the matter came to Darius; and they then returned an answer by letter concerning this.

6 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.

A copy of the letter which Thathnai, the governor on this side of the river, and Shethar-bozenai, and his companions, the Apharsachites, who were on this side of the river, sent unto king Darius.

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

They sent a report unto him, and thus was it written therein: Unto king Darius be all peace.

8 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.

Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, which they are building with heavy stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work is urged with speed, and it prospereth in their hands.

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

Then asked we these elders, and after this manner said we unto them, Who hath given you the order to build this house, and to complete these walls?

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

Also their names did we ask of them, to let thee know them, that we might write down the names of the men that are at their head.

11 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.

And in this manner did they return us answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we build the house that was built before this many years, and a great king of Israel built and completed it.

12 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.

But since our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them up into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, and he destroyed this house, and carried the people as exiles into Babylon.

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

However, in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon, king Cyrus gave an order to build this house of God.

14 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,

And also the vessels of gold and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought into the temple of Babylon, these did king Cyrus take out of the temple of Babylon, and gave them unto one, Sheshbazzar by name, whom he had appointed as governor;

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

And he said unto him, Take these vessels, go, carry them into the temple which is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built on its site.

16 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.’

Then came this same Sheshbazzar, [and] laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and from that time even until now they have been building it, but it is not yet finished.

17 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.”

And now, if it seem good to the king, let search be made in the king's treasure-house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that an order was given by king Cyrus to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send to us his pleasure concerning this matter.