Chapter 5

¹ Afterward, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, 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.^{[a] 2} Thereupon Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, began again to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, giving them support.

³ At that time Tattenai, the governor of West-of-Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates came to them and asked: “Who has given you the authority to rebuild this house and complete this structure? ⁴ What are the names of the men who are constructing this building?” ⁵ However, the eyes of their God continued to watch over the elders of the Jews, and they were not forced to stop until a report could reach Darius and an official reply could then be sent back in regard to this matter.

⁶ This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates sent to King Darius. ⁷ This is the written report that they forwarded to him:

“To King Darius: Our sincere greetings. ⁸ Let it be known to your majesty that we went to the province of Judah and visited the house of the great God. It is being rebuilt with massive stones, and beams of timber are being laid in the walls. The work is being done diligently, and significant progress has been made.

⁹ “We then questioned the elders, asking them: ‘Who gave you permission to build this house and to finish this structure?’ ¹⁰ We also asked them their names for your information so that we could record the names of those who were their leaders.

¹¹ “They gave us this answer: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are in the process of rebuilding the house that was erected many years ago, a house that a great king of Israel had built and completed. ¹² But because our ancestors provoked the wrath of the God of heaven, he delivered them into the power of Nebuchadnezzar, the Chaldean king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.

¹³ “ ‘However, King Cyrus of Babylon,^[b] in the first year of his reign, issued a decree that this house of God should be rebuilt. ¹⁴ Moreover, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had removed from the temple of Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, King Cyrus in turn removed from the temple of Babylon and ordered them to be delivered into the hands of a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor. ¹⁵ He said to him: “Take these vessels. Go forth and deposit them in the temple of Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site.”

¹⁶ “ ‘Then this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been under construction, and it is not yet completed.’ ¹⁷ Now, if it pleases the king, order that a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to ascertain whether a decree was issued by King Cyrus for the rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem. Then ask the king to convey his decision on this matter to us.”