Ezra 5:1-13

1When the prophets, 1Haggai the prophet and 2Zechariah 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 3Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and 4the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

3At that time 5Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues came to them and spoke to them as follows: “6Who issued you a decree to rebuild this 7temple and to finish this structure?” 48Then we told them accordingly what the names of the men were who were reconstructing this building. 5But 9the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report could reach Darius, and then the decree concerning it could be sent back.

6This is the copy of the letter that 10Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and his colleagues 11the officials, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. 7They sent the report to him in which it was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace. 8May it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God which is being built with large stones, and 12beams are being laid in the walls; and this work is being performed with great care and is succeeding in their hands. 9Then we asked those elders and said to them as follows: ‘Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?’ 10We also asked them their names so as to inform you, in order that we might write down the names of the men who were 13in charge. 11So they 14answered us as follows, saying, ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, 15which a great king of Israel built and finished. 12But 16because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, 17He handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon. 13However, 18in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus 19issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.