Ezra 5:3-13

3At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues came to the Jews and asked, “Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure?”

4They also asked them, “What are the names of the workers who are constructing this building?”

5But God was watching over 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.

6This 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.

7They sent him a report, written as follows: To King Darius: All greetings.

8Let 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 stones, and its beams are being set in the walls. This work is being done diligently and succeeding through the people’s efforts.

9So we questioned the elders and asked, “Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure?”

10We also asked them for their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.

11This 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.

12But 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.

13However, in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon, he issued a decree to rebuild the house of God.