Ezra 5

Revised Geneva Translation

5 Then Haggai, a Prophet, and Zechariah, the son of Iddo, a Prophet, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the Name of the God of Israel to them.

² Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, arose and began to build the House of God at Jerusalem, and with them the Prophets of God, who helped them.

³ At the same time, Tattenai came to them (who was captain beyond the River) and Shethar-Boznai and their companions, and said thus to them, “Who has given you commandment to build this House, and to lay the foundations of these walls?”

⁴ Then we said to them after this manner, “What are the names of the men who build this building?”

⁵ But the Eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them stop until the matter came to Darius. And then they answered by letters about it.

⁶ The copy of the letter that Tattenai, captain beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai and his companions, Persians, (who were beyond the river) sent to King Darius

⁷ (they sent a letter to him in which it was written): “TO DARIUS the king, all peace.

⁸ “Be it known to the king that we went into the province of Judea, to the House of the great God, which is built with great stones. And beams are laid in the walls. And this work is wrought speedily and prospers in their hands.

⁹ “Then asked we those elders, and said to them thus, ‘Who has given you commandment to build this House, and to lay the foundation of these walls?’

¹⁰ “We also asked their names so that we might inform you, and so that we might write the names of the men who were their rulers.

¹¹ “But they answered us thus, and said, ‘We are the servants of the God of Heaven and Earth, and build the House that was built of old, many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and founded.

¹² ‘But after our fathers had provoked the God of Heaven to wrath, He gave them over into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, the Chaldean. And he destroyed this house and carried the people away captive to Babel.

¹³ ‘But in the first year of Cyrus, king of Babel, King Cyrus made a decree to build this House of God.

¹⁴ ‘And the vessels of gold and silver of the House of God which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the Temple that was in Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babel—Cyrus the king took those out of the temple of Babel and gave them to Sheshbazzar by name, whom he had made captain.

¹⁵ ‘And he said to him, “Take these vessels and go your way, and put them in the Temple that is in Jerusalem. And let the House of God be built in its place.”

¹⁶ ‘Then, the same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of the House of God, which is in Jerusalem. And since that time until now, it has been under construction. It is not finished yet.’

¹⁷ “Now therefore, if it pleases the king, let there be a search made in the house of the king’s treasures which is there in Babel, to find whether a decree has been made by King Cyrus to build this House of God in Jerusalem. And let the king send his pleasure concerning this.”