Ezra 5

1 But when the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo  * 5:1 Ezr 6:14; Hg 1:1; Zch 1:1 prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them, 2 Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak  * 5:2 Ezr 3:2,8,10 began to rebuild God’s house in Jerusalem. The prophets of God  * 5:2 Ezr 6:14 were with them, helping them.

3 At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues  * 5:3 Ezr 6:6,13 came to the Jews and asked, "Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure? "  * 5:3 Or finish its furnishings, also in v. 9,* 5:3 Ezr 1:1–4; 5:9,13; 6:34 They also asked them, "What are the names of the workers  * 5:4 One Aramaic ms, LXX, Syr; MT reads Then we told them exactly what the names of the men were who are constructing this building? " 5 But God was watching  * 5:5 Lit But the eye of their God was over  * 5:5 Ezr 7:6,9,28; 8:18,22,31 the Jewish elders. These men wouldn’t stop them until a report was sent to Darius, so that they could receive written instructions about this matter.

The Letter to Darius

6 This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius. 7 They sent him a report, written as follows:

To King Darius:

All greetings.

8 Let it be known to the king that we went to the house of the great God in the province of Judah. It is being built with cut  * 5:8 Or huge stones, and its beams are being set in the walls. This work is being done diligently and succeeding through the people’s efforts.  * 5:8 Ezr 6:3–49 So we questioned the elders and asked, "Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure? " 10 We also asked them for their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.

11 This is the reply they gave us:

We are the servants of the God of the heavens and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.  * 5:11 1Kg 6:1,37–3812 But since our ancestors angered the God of the heavens, he handed them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.  * 5:12 2Ch 36:19–2013 However, in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon, he issued a decree to rebuild the house of God.  * 5:13 2Ch 36:22–23; Ezr 1:1–414 He also took from the temple in Babylon the gold and silver articles of God’s house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and carried them to the temple in Babylon.  * 5:14 2Ch 36:7,10,18; Ezr 1:7; Dn 5:2–3 He released them from the temple in Babylon to a man named Sheshbazzar, the governor by the appointment of King Cyrus.  * 5:14 Ezr 1:8,1115 Cyrus told him, "Take these articles, put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site."  * 5:15 Ezr 6:516 Then this same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of God’s house in Jerusalem.  * 5:16 Ezr 3:10 It has been under construction from that time until now,  * 5:16 Ezr 5:1–5 but it has not been completed.

17 So if it pleases the king, let a search of the royal archives  * 5:17 Lit treasure house in Babylon be conducted to see if it is true that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem.  * 5:17 2Ch 36:22–23; Ezr 1:1–4 Let the king’s decision regarding this matter be sent to us.  * 5:17 Ezr 6:1–12