Historical

3 ^1-2 During the month of September everyone who had returned to Judah came to Jerusalem from their homes in the other towns. Then Jeshua (son of Jozadak) with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel (son of Shealtiel) and his clan, rebuilt the altar of the God of Israel and sacrificed burnt offerings upon it, as instructed in the laws of Moses, the man of God. ³ The altar was rebuilt on its old site, and it was used immediately to sacrifice morning and evening burnt offerings to the Lord; for the people were fearful of attack.

⁴ And they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles as prescribed in the laws of Moses, sacrificing the burnt offerings specified for each day of the feast. ⁵ They also offered the special sacrifices required for the Sabbaths, the new moon celebrations, and the other regular annual feasts of the Lord. Voluntary offerings of the people were also sacrificed. ⁶ It was on the fifteenth day of September^[a] that the priests began sacrificing the burnt offerings to the Lord. (This was before they began building the foundation of the Temple.)

⁷ Then they hired masons and carpenters and bought cedar logs from the people of Tyre and Sidon, paying for them with food, wine, and olive oil. The logs were brought down from the Lebanon mountains and floated along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea to Joppa, for King Cyrus had included this provision in his grant.

⁸ The actual construction of the Temple began in June of the second year of their arrival at Jerusalem. The work force was made up of all those who had returned, and they were under the direction of Zerubbabel (son of Shealtiel), Jeshua (son of Jozadak), and their fellow priests and the Levites. The Levites who were twenty years old or older were appointed to supervise the workmen. ⁹ The supervision of the entire project was given to Jeshua, Kadmiel, Henadad, and their sons and relatives, all of whom were Levites.

¹⁰ When the builders completed the foundation of the Temple, the priests put on their official robes and blew their trumpets; and the descendants of Asaph crashed their cymbals to praise the Lord in the manner ordained by King David. ¹¹ They sang rounds of praise and thanks to God, singing this song: “He is good, and his love and mercy toward Israel will last forever.” Then all the people gave a great shout, praising God because the foundation of the Temple had been laid.

¹² But many of the priests and Levites and other leaders—the old men who remembered Solomon’s beautiful Temple—wept aloud, while others were shouting for joy! ¹³ So the shouting and the weeping mingled together in a loud commotion that could be heard far away!

4 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles had returned and were rebuilding the Temple, ² they approached Zerubbabel and the other leaders and suggested, “Let us work with you, for we are just as interested in your God as you are; we have sacrificed to him ever since King Esar-haddon of Assyria brought us here.”

³ But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the other Jewish leaders replied, “No, you may have no part in this work. The Temple of the God of Israel must be built by the Israelis, just as King Cyrus has commanded.”

^4-5 Then the local residents tried to discourage and frighten them by sending agents to tell lies about them to King Cyrus. This went on during his entire reign and lasted until King Darius took the throne.

⁶ And afterwards, when King Ahasuerus began to reign, they wrote him a letter of accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem ⁷ and did the same thing during the reign of Artaxerxes. Bishlam, Mithredath, and Tabeel and their associates wrote a letter to him in the Aramaic language, and it was translated to him. ^8-9 Others who participated were Governor Rehum, Shimshai (a scribe), several judges and other local leaders, the Persians, the Babylonians, the men of Erech and Susa, ¹⁰ and men from several other nations. (They had been taken from their own lands by the great and noble Osnappar and relocated in Jerusalem, Samaria, and throughout the neighboring lands west of the Euphrates River.)

¹¹ Here is the text of the letter they sent to King Artaxerxes:

“Sir: Greetings from your loyal subjects west of the Euphrates River. ¹² Please be informed that the Jews sent to Jerusalem from Babylon are rebuilding this historically rebellious and evil city; they have already rebuilt its walls and have repaired the foundations of the Temple. ¹³ But we wish you to know that if this city is rebuilt, it will be much to your disadvantage, for the Jews will then refuse to pay their taxes to you.

¹⁴ “Since we are grateful to you as our patron, and we do not want to see you taken advantage of and dishonored in this way, we have decided to send you this information. ¹⁵ We suggest that you search the ancient records to discover what a rebellious city this has been in the past; in fact, it was destroyed because of its long history of sedition against the kings and countries who attempted to control it. ¹⁶ We wish to declare that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, you might as well forget about this part of your empire beyond the Euphrates, for it will be lost to you.”

¹⁷ Then the king made this reply to Governor Rehum and Shimshai the scribe, and to their companions living in Samaria and throughout the area west of the Euphrates River:

¹⁸ “Gentlemen: Greetings! The letter you sent has been translated and read to me. ¹⁹ I have ordered a search made of the records and have indeed found that Jerusalem has in times past been a hotbed of insurrection against many kings; in fact, rebellion and sedition are normal there! ²⁰ I find, moreover, that there have been some very great kings in Jerusalem who have ruled the entire land beyond the Euphrates River and have received vast tribute, custom, and toll. ²¹ Therefore, I command that these men must stop their work until I have investigated the matter more thoroughly. ²² Do not delay, for we must not permit the situation to get out of control!”

²³ When this letter from King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai, they hurried to Jerusalem and forced the Jews to stop building. ²⁴ So the work ended until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.

5 ^1-2 But there were prophets in Jerusalem and Judah at that time—Haggai, and Zechariah (the son of Iddo)—who brought messages from the God of Israel to Zerubbabel (son of Shealtiel) and Jeshua (son of Jozadak), encouraging them to begin building again! So they did and the prophets helped them.

³ But Tattenai, the governor of the lands west of the Euphrates, and Shethar-bozenai, and their companions soon arrived in Jerusalem and demanded, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this Temple and finish these walls?”

⁴ They also asked for a list of the names of all the men who were working on the Temple. ⁵ But because the Lord was overseeing the entire situation, our enemies did not force us to stop building, but let us continue while King Darius looked into the matter and returned his decision.

⁶ Following is the letter which Governors Tattenai and Shethar-bozenai and the other officials sent to King Darius:

⁷ “To King Darius:

“Greetings!

⁸ “We wish to inform you that we went to the construction site of the Temple of the great God of Judah. It is being built with huge stones, and timber is being laid in the city walls. The work is going forward with great energy and success. ⁹ We asked the leaders, ‘Who has given you permission to do this?’ ¹⁰ And we demanded their names so that we could notify you. ¹¹ Their answer was, ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth and we are rebuilding the Temple that was constructed here many centuries ago by a great king of Israel. ¹² But afterwards our ancestors angered the God of heaven, and he abandoned them and let King Nebuchadnezzar destroy this Temple and exile the people to Babylonia.’

¹³ “But they insist that King Cyrus of Babylon, during the first year of his reign, issued a decree that the Temple should be rebuilt, ¹⁴ and they say King Cyrus returned the gold and silver bowls which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of Babylon. They say these items were delivered into the safekeeping of a man named Sheshbazzar, whom King Cyrus appointed as governor of Judah. ¹⁵ The king instructed him to return the bowls to Jerusalem and to let the Temple of God be built there as before. ¹⁶ So Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the Temple at Jerusalem; and the people have been working on it ever since, though it is not yet completed. ¹⁷ We request that you search in the royal library of Babylon to discover whether King Cyrus ever made such a decree; and then let us know your pleasure in this matter.”