Temple Work Resumed

5 When the prophets, ^(A)Haggai the prophet and ^(B)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, ² then ^(C)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and ^(D)the prophets of God were with them supporting them.

³ At that time ^(E)Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the ^[a]River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues came to them and spoke to them thus, “^(F)Who issued you a decree to rebuild this ^[b]temple and to finish this structure?” ^4 (G)Then we told them accordingly what the names of the men were who were reconstructing this building. ⁵ But ^(H)the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until a report could come to Darius, and then a written reply be returned concerning it.

Adversaries Write to Darius

⁶ This is the copy of the letter which ^(I)Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai and his colleagues ^(J)the officials, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. ⁷ They sent a report to him in which it was written thus: “To Darius the king, all peace. ⁸ Let 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 huge stones, and ^[c]beams are being laid in the walls; and this work is going on with great care and is succeeding in their hands. ⁹ Then we asked those elders and said to them thus, ‘Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?’ ¹⁰ We also asked them their names so as to inform you, and that we might write down the names of the men who were at their head. ¹¹ Thus they ^[d]answered us, saying, ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth and are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, ^(K)which a great king of Israel built and finished. ¹² But ^(L)because our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, ^(M)He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon. ¹³ However, ^(N)in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus ^(O)issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. ¹⁴ Also ^(P)the gold and silver utensils of the house of God which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple ^[e]in Jerusalem, and brought them to the temple of Babylon, these King Cyrus took from the temple of Babylon and they were given to one ^(Q)whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor. ¹⁵ He said to him, “Take these utensils, go and deposit them in the temple ^[f]in Jerusalem and let the house of God be rebuilt in its place.” ¹⁶ Then that Sheshbazzar came and ^(R)laid the foundations of the house of God ^[g]in Jerusalem; and from then until now it has been under construction and it is ^(S)not yet completed.’ ¹⁷ “Now if it pleases the king, ^(T)let a search be conducted in the king’s treasure house, which is there in Babylon, if it be that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild this house of God at Jerusalem; and let the king send to us his decision concerning this matter.”

Jesus Our High Priest

3 Therefore, ^(A)holy brethren, partakers of a ^(B)heavenly calling, consider Jesus, ^(C)the Apostle and ^(D)High Priest of our ^(E)confession; ^2 [a]He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as ^(F)Moses also was in all His house. ^3 (G)For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house. ⁴ For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. ⁵ Now ^(H)Moses was faithful in all His house as ^(I)a servant, ^(J)for a testimony of those things ^(K)which were to be spoken later; ⁶ but Christ was faithful as ^(L)a Son over His house—^(M)whose house we are, ^(N)if we hold fast our ^(O)confidence and the boast of our ^(P)hope firm until the end.

⁷ Therefore, just as ^(Q)the Holy Spirit says,

The Peril of Unbelief

^12 (X)Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart ^[c]that falls away from ^(Y)the living God. ¹³ But ^(Z)encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the ^(AA)deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴ For we have become partakers of Christ, ^(AB)if we hold fast the beginning of our ^(AC)assurance firm until the end, ¹⁵ while it is said,

¹⁶ For who ^(AE)provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, ^(AF)did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? ¹⁷ And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, ^(AG)whose bodies fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸ And to whom did He swear ^(AH)that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were ^(AI)disobedient? ¹⁹ So we see that they were not able to enter because of ^(AJ)unbelief.