Ezra 5

1 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.

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 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.

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 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?”

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

They also requested the people to tell them the names of the men who were working [at the temple]. [But the people refused].

5 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.

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 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.

So Tattenai and Shethar-Bozenai and their officials sent a report to King Darius.

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

This is what they wrote: “King Darius, we hope that things are going well for you!

8 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.

[“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 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?

“We asked the Jewish leaders, ‘Who has permitted you to rebuild this temple and put furnishings in it?’

10 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.

And we requested them to tell us the names of their leaders, in order that we could tell you who they were.

11 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.

“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 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.

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

“'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 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;

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 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.

“'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 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.

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 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.

“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.”