Ezra 5

1 And the prophets have prophesied (Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah son of Iddo) to the Jews who [are] in Judah and in Jerusalem, in the Name of the God of Israel—to them.

Now the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, the son of Iddo, were preaching to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel.

2 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jozadak, have risen, and begun to build the house of God, that [is] in Jerusalem, and with them are the prophets of God supporting them.

Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, got up and made a start at building the house of God at Jerusalem: and the prophets of God were with them, helping them.

3 At that time have come to them Tatnai, governor beyond the river, and Shethar-Boznai, and their companions, and thus they are saying to them, “Who has made for you a decree to build this house, and to finish this wall?”

At the same time, Tattenai, ruler of the land across the river, and Shethar-bozenai, and their men, came to them and said, Who gave you orders to go on building this house and this wall?

4 Then we have said thus to them, “What [are] the names of the men who are building this building?”

Then they said these words to them: What are the names of the men who are at work on this building?

5 And the eye of their God has been on [the] elders of [the] Jews, and they have not caused them to cease until [the] matter goes to Darius, and then they send back a letter concerning this thing.

But the eye of their God was on the chiefs of the Jews, and they did not make them give up working till the question had been put before Darius and an answer had come by letter about it.

6 The copy of a letter that Tatnai, governor beyond the river, has sent, and Shethar-Boznai and his companions, the Apharsachites who [are] beyond the river, to Darius the king.

This is a copy of the letter which Tattenai, the ruler of the land across the river, and Shethar-bozenai and his friends the Apharsachites, living across the river, sent to Darius the king:

7 A letter they have sent to him, and thus is it written in it:

They sent him a letter saying, To Darius the king, all peace:

8 “To Darius the king, all peace! Be it known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the great house of God, and it is built [with] rolled stones, and wood is placed in the walls, and this work is done speedily, and prospering in their hand.

This is to give the king word that we went into the land of Judah, to the house of the great God, which is made of great stones, and has its walls supported with wood, and the work is going on with industry, and they are doing it well.

9 Then we have asked of these elders, thus we have said to them, Who has made for you a decree to build this house, and to finish this wall?

Then we said to the men responsible, who gave you authority for the building of this house and these walls?

10 And also their names we have asked of them, to let you know, that we might write the names of the men who [are] at their head.

And we made request for their names, so that we might send you word, and give you the names of the men at the head of them.

11 And thus they have returned us word, saying, We [are] servants of the God of the heavens and earth, and are building the house that was built many years before this, that a great king of Israel built and finished:

And they made answer to us, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are building the house which was put up in times long past and was designed and made complete by a great king of Israel.

12 but after that our fathers made the God of the heavens angry, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon the Chaldean, and this house he destroyed, and the people he removed to Babylon;

But when the God of heaven was moved to wrath by our fathers, he gave them up into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the Chaldaean, who sent destruction on this house and took the people away into Babylon.

13 but in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree to build this house of God,

But in the first year of Cyrus, king of Babylon, Cyrus the king gave an order for the building of this house of God;

14 and also, the vessels of the house of God, of gold and silver, that Nebuchadnezzar had taken forth out of the temple that [is] in Jerusalem, and brought them to the temple of Babylon, them has Cyrus the king brought forth out of the temple of Babylon, and they have been given to [one], Sheshbazzar [is] his name, whom he made governor,

And the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple which was in Jerusalem, and put into the house of his god in Babylon, these Cyrus the king took from the house of his god in Babylon, and gave to one named Sheshbazzar, whom he had made ruler;

15 and said to him, Lift up these vessels, go, put them down in the temple that [is] in Jerusalem, and the house of God is built on its place.

And he said to him, Go, take these vessels, and put them in the Temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be put up again in its place.

16 Then this Sheshbazzar has come—he has laid the foundations of the house of God that [is] in Jerusalem, and from there even until now it has been building, and is not finished.

Then this same Sheshbazzar came and put the house of God in Jerusalem on its bases: and from that time till now the building has been going on, but it is still not complete.

17 And now, if it is good to the king, let a search be made in the treasure-house of the king, that [is] there in Babylon, whether it be that there was a decree made by Cyrus the king to build this house of God in Jerusalem, and the will of the king concerning this thing he sends to us.”

So now, if it seems good to the king, let search be made in the king's store-house at Babylon, to see if it is true that an order was given by Cyrus the king for the building of this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send us word of his pleasure in connection with this business.