1Haggai and Zechariah, the prophets, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. They spoke to them in the name of the God of Israel. God had spoken to those prophets. Zechariah belonged to the family line of Iddo.2Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, began to work. So did Joshua, the son of Jozadak. They began to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were right there with them. They were helping them.3At that time Tattenai was governor of the land west of the River Euphrates. He and Shethar-Bozenai and their friends went to the Jews. They asked them, ‘Who authorised you to rebuild this temple? Who told you that you could finish it?’4They also asked, ‘What are the names of the people who are putting up this building?’5But the God of the Jews was watching over their elders. So they didn’t have to stop their work. First a report would have to be sent to Darius. Then they would have to receive his answer in writing.6Here is a copy of the letter sent to King Darius. It was from Tattenai, the governor of the land west of the Euphrates. Shethar-Bozenai joined him in writing it. So did their friends. They were officials of that land.7The report they sent to the king said, We are sending this letter to you, King Darius. We give you our most friendly greetings.8We want you to know that we went to the land of Judah. We went to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones. They are putting wooden beams in the walls. The people are working hard. The work is moving ahead very quickly under the direction of the people.9We asked the elders some questions. We said to them, ‘Who authorised you to rebuild this temple? Who told you that you could finish it?’10We also asked them what their names were. We wanted to write down the names of their leaders for your information.11Here is the answer they gave us. They said, ‘We serve the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago. The great King Solomon built it and finished it.12But our people made the God of heaven angry. So he handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar from Chaldea. He was king of Babylon. He destroyed this temple. He forced the Jews to leave their own country. He took them away to Babylon.13‘But King Cyrus gave an order to rebuild this house of God. He gave it in the first year he was king of Babylon.14He even removed some gold and silver objects from the temple of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar had brought them there from the house of God in Jerusalem. He had taken them to the temple in Babylon. Then King Cyrus brought the objects out. He gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar. Cyrus had appointed him as governor.15Cyrus told him, “Take these objects with you. Go and put them in the temple in Jerusalem. Rebuild the house of God in the same place where it stood before.”16‘So Sheshbazzar made the trip to Jerusalem. He laid the foundations of the house of God there. From that day until now the people have been working on it. But they haven’t finished it yet.’17If it pleases you, King Darius, let a search be made in the royal records. Search the official records of the kings of Babylon. Find out whether King Cyrus really did give an order to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then tell us what you decide to do.
Ezra 5
English Standard Version
Rebuilding Begins Anew
1Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. (Hag 1:1; Zec 1:1)2Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them. (Ezr 3:2; Ezr 6:14)3At the same time Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?” (Ezr 4:12; Ezr 6:6; Ezr 6:13)4They also asked them this:[1] “What are the names of the men who are building this building?”5But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it. (Ezr 7:6; Ezr 7:28; Ps 33:18)
Tattenai’s Letter to King Darius
6This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and his associates, the governors who were in the province Beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. (Ezr 4:9; Ezr 5:3)7They sent him a report, in which was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace.8Be it known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built with huge stones, and timber is laid in the walls. This work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands.9Then we asked those elders and spoke to them thus: ‘Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?’ (Ezr 5:3)10We also asked them their names, for your information, that we might write down the names of their leaders.[2]11And this was their reply to us: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished. (1Ki 6:1; Ezr 4:12)12But because our fathers had angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried away the people to Babylonia. (2Ki 24:2; 2Ki 25:8; 2Ch 36:16)13However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree that this house of God should be rebuilt. (Ezr 1:1)14And the gold and silver vessels 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 Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; (Ezr 1:7; Ezr 1:8; Ezr 6:5)15and he said to him, “Take these vessels, go and put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site.”16Then this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been in building, and it is not yet finished.’ (Ezr 3:8; Ezr 3:10; Ezr 5:14; Ezr 6:15)17Therefore, if it seems good to the king, let search be made in the royal archives there in Babylon, to see whether a decree was issued by Cyrus the king for the rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem. And let the king send us his pleasure in this matter.” (Ezr 6:1)