Ezra 5
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
5 1 But when the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo(A) prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them, 2 Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak(B) began to rebuild God’s house in Jerusalem. The prophets of God(C) were with them, helping them.
3 At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the River Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues(D) came to the Jews and asked, ‘Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure? ’[a](E) 4 They also asked them, ‘What are the names of the workers[b] who are constructing this building? ’ 5 But God was watching[c] over(F) the Jewish elders. These men wouldn’t stop them until a report was sent to Darius, so that they could receive written instructions about this matter.
The Letter to Darius
6 This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the River Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius. 7 They sent him a report, written as follows:
To King Darius:
All greetings.
8 Let it be known to the king that we went to the house of the great God in the province of Judah. It is being built with cut[d] stones, and its beams are being set in the walls. This work is being done diligently and succeeding through the people’s efforts.(G) 9 So we questioned the elders and asked, ‘Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure? ’ 10 We also asked them for their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.
11 This is the reply they gave us:
We are the servants of the God of the heavens and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.(H) 12 But since our ancestors angered the God of the heavens, he handed them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.(I) 13 However, in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon, he issued a decree to rebuild the house of God.(J) 14 He also took from the temple in Babylon the gold and silver articles of God’s house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and carried them to the temple in Babylon.(K) He released them from the temple in Babylon to a man named Sheshbazzar, the governor by the appointment of King Cyrus.(L) 15 Cyrus told him, ‘Take these articles, put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site.’(M) 16 Then this same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of God’s house in Jerusalem.(N) It has been under construction from that time until now,(O) but it has not been completed.
17 So if it pleases the king, let a search of the royal archives[e] in Babylon be conducted to see if it is true that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem.(P) Let the king’s decision regarding this matter be sent to us.(Q)
Ezra 5
Contemporary English Version
5 1 (A) Then the Lord God of Israel told the prophets Haggai and Zechariah[a] to speak in his name to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. And they did. 2 (B) So Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the priest urged the people to start working on the temple again, and God's prophets encouraged them.
3 Governor Tattenai of Western Province and his assistant Shethar Bozenai got together with some of their officials. Then they went to Jerusalem and said to the people, “Who told you to rebuild this temple? 4 Give us the names of the workers!”
5 But God was looking after the Jewish leaders. So the governor and his group decided not to make the people stop working on the temple until they could report to Darius and get his advice.
6 Governor Tattenai, Shethar Bozenai, and their advisors sent a report to Darius, 7 which said:
King Darius, we wish you the best! 8 We went to Judah, where the temple of the great God is being built with huge stones and wooden beams set in the walls. Everyone is working hard, and the building is going up quickly.
9 We asked those in charge to tell us who gave them permission to rebuild the temple. 10 We also asked for the names of their leaders, so that we could write them down for you.
11 They claimed to be servants of the God who rules heaven and earth. And they said they were rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago by one of Israel's greatest kings.[b]
12 (C) We were told that their people had made God angry, and he let them be captured by Nebuchadnezzar,[c] the Babylonian king[d] who took them away as captives to Babylonia. Nebuchadnezzar tore down their temple, 13-15 (D) took its gold and silver articles, and put them in the temple of his own god in Babylon.
They also said that during the first year Cyrus was king of Babylonia,[e] he gave orders for God's temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem where it had stood before. So Cyrus appointed Sheshbazzar governor of Judah and sent these gold and silver articles for him to put in the temple. 16 Sheshbazzar then went to Jerusalem and laid the foundation for the temple, and the work is still going on.
17 Your Majesty, please order someone to look up the old records in Babylonia and find out if King Cyrus really did give orders to rebuild God's temple in Jerusalem. We will do whatever you think we should.
Footnotes
- 5.1 Zechariah: Aramaic “Zechariah son of Iddo.”
- 5.11 one of Israel's greatest kings: Solomon (ruled from about 970 to 931 b.c.).
- 5.12 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 1.7.
- 5.12 the Babylonian king: Aramaic “the Babylonian king from Chaldea,” but Chaldea is another name for Babylonia.
- 5.13-15 Cyrus was king of Babylonia: King Cyrus of Persia became king of Babylonia when the Persians conquered the city of Babylon in 539 b.c.
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