Ezra 5

¹Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariʹah 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. ²Then Zerubʹbabel the son of She-alʹti-el and Jeshua the son of Joʹzadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and with them were the prophets of God, helping them.

³At the same time Tatʹtenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Sheʹthar-bozʹenai 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?” ⁴They also asked them this, “What are the names of the men who are building this building?” ⁵But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them till a report should reach Darius and then answer be returned by letter concerning it.

⁶The copy of the letter which Tatʹtenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Sheʹthar-bozʹenai and his associates the governors who were in the province Beyond the River sent to Darius the king; 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?’ ¹⁰We also asked them their names, for your information, that we might write down the names of the men at their head. 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. ¹²But because our fathers had angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezʹzar king of Babylon, the Chaldeʹan, who destroyed this house and carried away the people to Babylonia. ¹³However in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree that this house of God should be rebuilt. ¹⁴And the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezʹzar 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 Shesh-bazʹzar, whom he had made governor; ¹⁵and he said to him, “Take these vessels, go and put them in the temple which is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site.” ¹⁶Then this Shesh-bazʹzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and from that time until now it has been in building, and it is not yet finished.’ ¹⁷Therefore, if it seem 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.”