Ezra 5

The Prophets Step in and the Work Resumes

1 Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah (son of Iddo) stepped up and started speaking God’s message to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. They told the people what God wanted them to do.

2 So Zerubbabel (son of Shealtiel) and Jeshua (son of Jozadak) rose up and started rebuilding the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were right there with them, backing them up.

Tattenai Pulls Up with Questions

3 Around that time, Tattenai, the governor over the region west of the Euphrates, came through with Shethar-bozenai and their crew. They questioned the workers, “Who gave you all permission to rebuild this temple and finish this structure?”

4 They also asked for names: “Who are the men working on this construction?”

5 But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, so the officials did not stop them. They let them keep working until a report could get back to King Darius and his decision came down.

The Letter to King Darius

6 Here is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, along with Shethar-bozenai and his associates, sent to King Darius.

7 They wrote: “To King Darius, peace to you.”

8 “We need to let you know: we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. The people there are building with big stones, laying beams, and working hard. And the work is moving fast, it is getting done right under their leadership.”

9 “We asked those elders, ‘Who gave you all the right to rebuild this house and finish it?’”

10 “We also asked their names so we could write you a list of the men leading the work.”

11 Here is what they told us: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was originally built a long time ago. A great king of Israel built it and finished it.’

12 ‘But our ancestors made the God of heaven angry. So He handed them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who tore down this temple and took the people to Babylon as captives.’

13 ‘But in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon, he gave an order to rebuild this house of God.’

14 ‘And King Cyrus even brought out the gold and silver items that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple and put in his own god’s temple. Cyrus gave those items back to a man named Sheshbazzar, who he made governor.’

15 ‘Cyrus told him, “Take these items, go back, and put them in the temple in Jerusalem. Let the house of God be rebuilt where it stood.”’

16 ‘So Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of God’s house in Jerusalem. And it has been under construction ever since, even now it is still not finished.’

17 ‘So now, if it seems right to the king, please search the royal archives in Babylon to see if King Cyrus really did give the order to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision on this matter.’