Ezra 5:1-17
5 But Haggai the prophet, and Zecariah the son of ʽIddo the prophets, prophesied to the Judahites in Judah and Jerusalem by the name of Israel’s God upon them.
2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshuaʽ the son of Josadak stood up and began to build God’s house at Jerusalem, and they had with them God’s prophets backing them up.
3 *** At that time Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar Bozenai, and his fellow-colonists, came and spoke thus to them: “Who gave you orders to build this house and to complete this sacred precinct?”
4 * Then we said to them as follows: “What are the names of the men that are doing this building?”
5 But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Judahites, and they did not make them leave off until the report should go to Darius and then they should return a communication about this.
6 * A copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar Bozenai, and his fellow-colonists the Apharsekites in Trans-Euphrates sent to King Darius:
7 they sent a statement to him, and this is what was written in it. “To King Darius, all peace.
8 Be it known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah to the house of the great God; and it is being built in heavy stone, and timber is being set in the walls, and that work is being done thoroughly and is making good progress in their hands.
9 Then we questioned those elders as follows: ‘Who gave you orders to build this house and to complete this sacred precinct?’
10 * and we also asked them their names to be notified to you, which we write down: names of the men at their head.
11 And they returned us a statement as follows: ‘We are the worshipers of the God of heaven and earth, and are rebuilding the house which had been built many years earlier, a great king of Israel having built it and completed it;
12 only when our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath he gave them into the hands of Nebucadnessar, the Chaldean king of Babylon, and he laid this house in ruins and deported the people to Babylon.
13 But, in Cyrus’s first year as king of Babylon, King Cyrus gave orders to rebuild this house of God;
14 and the gold and silver vessels of the house of God also, which Nebucadnessar had taken out of the temple at Jerusalem and had brought to the temple in Babylon, King Cyrus took out of the temple in Babylon and gave them to one Shashabalassar whom he had appointed governor,
15 and said to him “Take these vessels and go and place them in the temple at Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site.”
16 Then that Shashabalassar came and laid the foundations of the house of God at Jerusalem, and from then till now it has been in process of rebuilding and has not been finished.’
17 Now, if the king thinks best, let search be made in the royal archives there in Babylon whether it is a fact that orders were given by King Cyrus to rebuild that house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send us word of his pleasure as to this.”
Footnotes
^ 5:3, 5:6 Conj. Vishtanai, governor
^ 5:3 Codd. their fellow-colonists (or colleagues)
^ 5:3 (last words) Unc.
^ 5:4 Susp. Var. they said Var. sacred precinct? What are the names Conj. that many words have been left out between as follows and What are
^ 5:6 Or his colleagues
^ 5:10 Or that we might write down the names of
