Ezra 5

1 And he prophesied Haggai (prophet the *Q(K)*) and Zechariah [the] son of Iddo (prophets the *Q(k)*) to Jews the who [were] in Judah and in Jerusalem in [the] name of [the] God of Israel [who was] over them.

Later, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.

2 Then they arose Zerubbabel [the] son of Shealtiel and Jeshua [the] son of Jozadak and they began to build [the] house of God which [is] in Jerusalem and [were] with them (prophets the *Q(k)*) of God supporting them.

Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak rose up and began to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them.

3 At it time the he came to them Tattenai [the] governor of [the] region beyond river the and Shethar-Bozenai and associates their and as follows [they were] saying to them who? did he make for you a decree house the this to build and structure the this to finish.

At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates went to the Jews and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”

4 Then as follows we said to them what? [are] they [the] names of men the who this building the [are] building.

They also asked, “What are the names of the men who are constructing this building?”

5 And [the] eye of God their it was on [the] elders of Jews the and not they made cease them until report the to Darius it will come and then they will send back letter the concerning this.

But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, so that they were not stopped until a report was sent to Darius and written instructions about this matter were returned.

6 copy of Letter the which he sent Tattenai - [the] governor of [the] region beyond river the and Shethar-Bozenai and associates his officials the who [were] in [the] region beyond river the to Darius king the.

This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius.

7 Word the they sent to him and according to this it was written in midst its to Darius king the peace the all.

The report they sent him read as follows: To King Darius: All peace.

8 Known - let it be to king the that we went to Judea province the to [the] house of God the great and it [is] being built stone of rolling and timber [is] being set in walls the and work the this diligently [is] being done and [is] prospering in hand their.

Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. The people are rebuilding it with large stones, and placing timbers in the walls. This work is being carried out diligently and is prospering in their hands.

9 Then we asked to elders the these as follows we said to them who? did he make for you a decree house the this to build and structure the this to finish.

So we questioned the elders and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”

10 And also names their we asked (to them *LA(bh)*) to make known to you that we will write [the] name of men the who [are] at heads their.

We also asked for their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.

11 And as follows word the they sent back to us to say we they [are] servants his of [the] God of heavens the and earth the and [we are] building house the which it was built from [the] former time of this years many and a king of Israel great he built it and he finished it.

And this is the answer they returned: “We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and completed.

12 But from that they enraged fathers our [the] God of heavens the he gave them in [the] hand of Nebuchadnezzar [the] king of Babylon (Chaldean the *Q(k)*) and house the this he destroyed it and people the he took into exile to Babylon.

But since our fathers angered the God of heaven, He delivered them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean who destroyed this temple and carried away the people to Babylon.

13 Nevertheless in year one of Cyrus king the of Babylon Cyrus king the he made a decree [the] house of God this to build.

In his first year, however, Cyrus king of Babylon issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.

14 And also vessels the of [the] house of God of gold and silver which Nebuchadnezzar he had brought out from temple the which [was] in Jerusalem and he carried them to temple the of Babylon he brought out them Cyrus king the from temple the of Babylon and they were given to Sheshbazzar name his whom governor he had made him.

He also removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and silver articles belonging to the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken and carried there from the temple in Jerusalem. King Cyrus gave these articles to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he appointed governor

15 And he said to him - (these *Q(K)*) vessels the take! go! deposit! them in temple the which [is] in Jerusalem and [the] house of God let it be built on place its.

and instructed, ‘Take these articles, put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site.’

16 Then Sheshbazzar this he came he laid foundations the of [the] house of God which [is] in Jerusalem and from then and until now [it is] being built and not [it is] finished.

So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of the house of God in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been under construction, but it has not yet been completed.”

17 And now if to king the [it is] good let it be searched in [the] house of treasures the of king the there which [are] in Babylon whether there [is] that from Cyrus king the it was made [is] a decree to build [the] house of God this in Jerusalem and [the] will of king the concerning this let him send to us.

Now, therefore, if it pleases the king, let a search be made of the royal archives in Babylon to see if King Cyrus did indeed issue a decree to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.