1 Esdras 6:1-21

Common English Bible

Work on the temple is finished

6 In the second year of Darius’ rule, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah (Iddo’s son) prophesied to the Judeans who were in Judea and in Jerusalem in the name of the Lord God of Israel, who is ruler over them. ²Then Zerubbabel, Shealtiel’s son, and Jeshua, Jozadak’s son, went up and began to build the Lord’s house in Jerusalem, assisted by the Lord’s prophets.

³At the same time, Sisinnes, the commander of Syria and Phoenicia, and Sathrabuzanes and their associates came to them and said, ⁴“By whose order are you building this house and this roof and finishing all the other things? Who are the builders who are doing all of these things?” ⁵Yet the elders of the Judeans enjoyed the gracious protection of the Lord on the exiles, ⁶and they weren’t prevented from building until Darius could be informed about them and return an answer. ⁷Here is a copy of the letter that Sisinnes, the commander of Syria and Phoenicia, Sathrabuzanes, and their associates, the local officials in Syria and Phoenicia, wrote to Darius:

⁸To King Darius. Greetings.

Our master the king, may you know that when we came to the country of Judea and entered the city of Jerusalem, we found the elders of the Jews, who had been in captivity, building in the city of Jerusalem a large new house for the Lord, of polished stone with costly beams set in the walls. ⁹These projects are proceeding swiftly, and the overall work is succeeding. They are completing it with brillance and precision. ¹⁰So we asked these elders, “By whose command are you building this house and laying the foundations of this project?” ¹¹In order that we might inform you, we questioned them about who the leaders are and demanded a list of the names of the troublemakers. ¹²They told us, “We are the servants of the Lord who created the heaven and the earth. ¹³The house was built many years before by a great and mighty king of Israel, and it was finished. ¹⁴But when our ancestors angrily sinned against the Lord of Israel who is in heaven, God gave them over into the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, king of the Chaldeans; ¹⁵and they tore down the house and burned it, and led the people away as prisoners to Babylon. ¹⁶But in the first year of Cyrus’ rule over the country of Babylonia, King Cyrus wrote that this house should be rebuilt. ¹⁷King Cyrus took out the holy gold and silver equipment from the temple in Babylon, which Nebuchadnezzar had removed from the house in Jerusalem and deposited in his own temple. Cyrus handed it over to Zerubbabel and the governor Sheshbazzar ¹⁸with the order that they^[a] take all of this equipment back and place it in the temple in Jerusalem, and that the Lord’s temple be rebuilt on its site. ¹⁹After coming here, Sheshbazzar laid the foundations of the Lord’s house in Jerusalem. It has been under construction until now, although it isn’t finished.” ²⁰Now, King, if it seems right, please search the royal archives that are in Babylon. ²¹If it is discovered that the building of the Lord’s house in Jerusalem was done with King Cyrus’ consent, and if it seems right to our master the king, please direct us concerning these things.