Ἔσδρας Αʹ 5

1 καὶ ἐπροφήτευσεν Αγγαιος ὁ προφήτης καὶ Ζαχαριας ὁ τοῦ Αδδω προφητείαν ἐπὶ τοὺς Ιουδαίους τοὺς ἐν Ιουδα καὶ Ιερουσαλημ ἐν ὀνόματι θεοῦ Ισραηλ ἐπ’ αὐτούς

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 τότε ἀνέστησαν Ζοροβαβελ ὁ τοῦ Σαλαθιηλ καὶ Ἰησοῦς ὁ υἱὸς Ιωσεδεκ καὶ ἤρξαντο οἰκοδομῆσαι τὸν οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν ἐν Ιερουσαλημ καὶ μετ’ αὐτῶν οἱ προφῆται τοῦ θεοῦ βοηθοῦντες αὐτοῖς

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 ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ καιρῷ ἦλθεν ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς Θανθαναι ἔπαρχος πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ καὶ Σαθαρβουζανα καὶ οἱ σύνδουλοι αὐτῶν καὶ τοῖα εἶπαν αὐτοῖς τίς ἔθηκεν ὑμῖν γνώμην τοῦ οἰκοδομῆσαι τὸν οἶκον τοῦτον καὶ τὴν χορηγίαν ταύτην καταρτίσασθαι

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 τότε ταῦτα εἴποσαν αὐτοῖς τίνα ἐστὶν τὰ ὀνόματα τῶν ἀνδρῶν τῶν οἰκοδομούντων τὴν πόλιν ταύτην

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

5 καὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν Ιουδα καὶ οὐ κατήργησαν αὐτούς ἕως γνώμη τῷ Δαρείῳ ἀπηνέχθη καὶ τότε ἀπεστάλη τῷ φορολόγῳ ὑπὲρ τούτου

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 διασάφησις ἐπιστολῆς ἧς ἀπέστειλεν Θανθαναι ὁ ἔπαρχος τοῦ πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ καὶ Σαθαρβουζανα καὶ οἱ σύνδουλοι αὐτῶν Αφαρσαχαῖοι οἱ ἐν τῷ πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ Δαρείῳ τῷ βασιλεῖ

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 ῥῆσιν ἀπέστειλαν πρὸς αὐτόν καὶ τάδε γέγραπται ἐν αὐτῷ Δαρείῳ τῷ βασιλεῖ εἰρήνη πᾶσα

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

8 γνωστὸν ἔστω τῷ βασιλεῖ ὅτι ἐπορεύθημεν εἰς τὴν Ιουδαίαν χώραν εἰς οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ μεγάλου καὶ αὐτὸς οἰκοδομεῖται λίθοις ἐκλεκτοῖς καὶ ξύλα ἐντίθεται ἐν τοῖς τοίχοις καὶ τὸ ἔργον ἐκεῖνο ἐπιδέξιον γίνεται καὶ εὐοδοῦται ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτῶν

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 τότε ἠρωτήσαμεν τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους ἐκείνους καὶ οὕτως εἴπαμεν αὐτοῖς τίς ἔθηκεν ὑμῖν γνώμην τὸν οἶκον τοῦτον οἰκοδομῆσαι καὶ τὴν χορηγίαν ταύτην καταρτίσασθαι

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

10 καὶ τὰ ὀνόματα αὐτῶν ἠρωτήσαμεν αὐτοὺς γνωρίσαι σοι ὥστε γράψαι σοι τὰ ὀνόματα τῶν ἀνδρῶν τῶν ἀρχόντων αὐτῶν

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

11 καὶ τοιοῦτο ῥῆμα ἀπεκρίθησαν ἡμῖν λέγοντες ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν δοῦλοι τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ οἰκοδομοῦμεν τὸν οἶκον ὃς ἦν ᾠκοδομημένος πρὸ τούτου ἔτη πολλά καὶ βασιλεὺς τοῦ Ισραηλ μέγας ᾠκοδόμησεν αὐτὸν καὶ κατηρτίσατο αὐτὸν

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 αὐτοῖς ἀφ’ ὅτε δὲ παρώργισαν οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν τὸν θεὸν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἔδωκεν αὐτοὺς εἰς χεῖρας Ναβουχοδονοσορ βασιλέως Βαβυλῶνος τοῦ Χαλδαίου καὶ τὸν οἶκον τοῦτον κατέλυσεν καὶ τὸν λαὸν ἀπῴκισεν εἰς Βαβυλῶνα

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 ἀλλ’ ἐν ἔτει πρώτῳ Κύρου τοῦ βασιλέως Κῦρος ὁ βασιλεὺς ἔθετο γνώμην τὸν οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦτον οἰκοδομηθῆναι

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

14 καὶ τὰ σκεύη τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ χρυσᾶ καὶ τὰ ἀργυρᾶ ἃ Ναβουχοδονοσορ ἐξήνεγκεν ἀπὸ οἴκου τοῦ ἐν Ιερουσαλημ καὶ ἀπήνεγκεν αὐτὰ εἰς ναὸν τοῦ βασιλέως ἐξήνεγκεν αὐτὰ Κῦρος ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀπὸ ναοῦ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ ἔδωκεν τῷ Σασαβασαρ τῷ θησαυροφύλακι τῷ ἐπὶ τοῦ θησαυροῦ

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 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ πάντα τὰ σκεύη λαβὲ καὶ πορεύου θὲς αὐτὰ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τῷ ἐν Ιερουσαλημ εἰς τὸν ἑαυτῶν τόπον

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 τότε Σασαβασαρ ἐκεῖνος ἦλθεν καὶ ἔδωκεν θεμελίους τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἐν Ιερουσαλημ καὶ ἀπὸ τότε ἕως τοῦ νῦν ᾠκοδομήθη καὶ οὐκ ἐτελέσθη

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 καὶ νῦν εἰ ἐπὶ τὸν βασιλέα ἀγαθόν ἐπισκεπήτω ἐν οἴκῳ τῆς γάζης τοῦ βασιλέως Βαβυλῶνος ὅπως γνῷς ὅτι ἀπὸ βασιλέως Κύρου ἐτέθη γνώμη οἰκοδομῆσαι τὸν οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκεῖνον τὸν ἐν Ιερουσαλημ καὶ γνοὺς ὁ βασιλεὺς περὶ τούτου πεμψάτω πρὸς ἡμᾶς

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.