² This is what the Lord Almighty^(A) says: “These people^(B) say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.^(C)’”

¹⁰ Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers^(A) is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”

²³ As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates,^(A) they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop.

²⁴ Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius^(B) king of Persia.

Tattenai’s Letter to Darius

5 Now Haggai^(C) the prophet and Zechariah^(D) the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied^(E) to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. ² Then Zerubbabel^(F) son of Shealtiel and Joshua^(G) son of Jozadak set to work^(H) to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

¹⁰ Whatever^(A) your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,^(B) for in the realm of the dead,^(C) where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.^(D)

³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”^(A)