Ezra 5
1599 Geneva Bible
5 1 Haggai and Zechariah do prophesy. 3 The work of the Temple goeth forward contrary to the mind of Tattenai. 6 His letters to Darius.
1 Then [a](A)Haggai a Prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo a Prophet prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah, and Jerusalem, in the Name of the God of Israel, even unto 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 were the Prophets of God, which [b]helped them.
3 ¶ At the same time came to them Tattenai which was captain beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and their companions, and said thus unto them, Who hath given you commandment to build this house, and to lay the foundations of these walls?
4 [c]Then said we unto them after this manner, What are the names of the men that build this building?
5 But the [d]eye of their God was upon the Elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius: and then they answered by letters thereunto.
6 The copy of the letter, that Tattenai captain beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai and his companions, Persians, (which were beyond the river) sent unto King Darius.
7 They sent a letter unto him, wherein it was written thus, UNTO DARIUS the king, all peace.
8 Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is built with [e]great stones, and beams are laid in the walls, and this work is wrought speedily, and prospereth in their hands.
9 Then asked we those Elders, and said unto them thus, Who hath given you commandment to build this house, and to lay the foundation of these walls?
10 We asked their names also that we might certify thee, and that we might write the names of the men that 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 and many years ago, which a [f]great king of Israel (B)built, and founded it.
12 But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, (C)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 unto Babel.
13 But in the [g]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 them into the Temple of Babel, those did Cyrus the king take out of the Temple of Babel, and they gave them unto one [h]Sheshbazzar by his name, whom he had made captain.
15 And he said unto him, Take these vessels and go thy way, and put them in the Temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built in his place.
16 Then came the same Sheshbazzar and laid the foundation of the house of God, which is in Jerusalem, and since that time even until now, hath it been in building, yet is it not finished.
17 Now therefore if it please the king, let there be search made in the house of the king’s [i]treasures, which is there in Babel, whether a decree hath been made by king Cyrus, to build this house of God in Jerusalem, and let the King send his mind concerning this.
Footnotes
- Ezra 5:1 Or, Haggeni.
- Ezra 5:2 Which encouraged them to go forward, and accused them that they were more careful to build their own houses, than zealous to build the Temple of God.
- Ezra 5:4 That is, the enemies asked this, as verse 10.
- Ezra 5:5 His favor and the spirit of strength.
- Ezra 5:8 Or, masonry.
- Ezra 5:11 To wit, Solomon.
- Ezra 5:13 Read Ezra 1:1, 2.
- Ezra 5:14 Read Ezra 1:8.
- Ezra 5:17 Meaning, in the library, or places where lay the register or records of times.
Ezra 5
International Children’s Bible
Tattenai’s Letter to Darius
5 Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo were prophets. They prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. They prophesied in the name of the God of Israel. 2 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak started working again. They worked to rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were there, helping them.
3 At that time Tattenai was the governor west of the Euphrates. He and Shethar-Bozenai and others went to the Jews. They asked, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this Temple and fix these walls?” 4 They also asked, “What are the names of these men working on this building?” 5 But their God was watching over the elders of the Jews. The builders were not stopped until a report could go to King Darius. And then his written answer had to be received.
6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, Shethar-Bozenai and the others sent to King Darius. Tattenai was governor west of the Euphrates River. The other people were important officers west of the Euphrates. 7 This is what the report they sent to him said:
To King Darius.
Greetings. May you have peace.
8 King Darius, you should know that we went to the district of Judah. That is where the Temple of the great God is. The people there are building that Temple with large stones. They are putting timbers in the walls. The people are working very hard. And they are building very fast.
9 We asked their elders, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this Temple and these walls?” 10 We also asked for their names. We wrote down the names of their leaders so you would know who they are.
11 This is the answer they gave to us: “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the Temple that a great king of Israel built. He finished it many years ago. 12 But our ancestors made the God of heaven angry. So God let them be defeated by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He destroyed this Temple. And he took the people to Babylon as captives.
13 “Later, Cyrus was in his first year as king of Babylon. He gave a special order for this Temple to be rebuilt. 14 And Cyrus brought out things from the temple in Babylon. They were the gold and silver bowls and pans that came from the Temple of God. Nebuchadnezzar had taken them from the Temple in Jerusalem. And he had put them in the temple in Babylon.
“Then King Cyrus gave them to Sheshbazzar. He had appointed Sheshbazzar as governor. 15 Cyrus said to him, ‘Take these gold and silver bowls and pans. Put them back in the Temple in Jerusalem. And rebuild the Temple of God where it was.’ 16 So Sheshbazzar came. He laid the foundations of the Temple of God in Jerusalem. From that day until now the work has been going on. But it is not yet finished.”
17 Now, if the king wishes, let a search be made. Search the royal records of Babylon to see if King Cyrus gave such an order. See if he gave an order to rebuild this Temple in Jerusalem. Then let the king write us and tell us what he has decided.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
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