Ezra 5
5
Prophets Restart the Project
1Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.
2Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the House of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them supporting them.
3At that time Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates came to them and asked them, “Who gave you the authority to build this House and to complete this structure?”
4They also asked them, “What are the names of the men who are constructing this building?”
5But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and a written reply about it be returned.
6This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shetar-bozenai, and his colleagues, officials of Trans-Euphrates, sent to King Darius.
7The report they sent to him was written as follows: “To King Darius. “All Shalom!
8“Be it known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the House of the great God, which is being built with large stones and timber is being set in the walls. Now this work is being done diligently and is succeeding in their hands.
9Then we questioned those elders, asking them, ‘Who gave you the authority to build this House and to complete this structure?’
10We also asked them their names in order to inform you, so that we might write the names of the men who were in charge of them.
11They responded to us saying, ‘We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the House that was built many years ago. A great king of Israel built and finished it.
12But because our fathers angered the God of heaven, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the Chaldean. He destroyed this House and carried the people away to Babylon.
13‘However, in the first year of Cyrus, king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this House of God.
14Even the gold and silver utensils of the House of God that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem and had carried away to the temple in Babylon—King Cyrus took those things from the temple in Babylon and gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor.
15‘Then he said to him, “Take these vessels and go and deposit them in the Temple in Jerusalem and let the House of God be built in its place!”
16So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the House of God in Jerusalem. From that time until now it has been under construction, yet it is not yet finished.’
17“Now, if it pleases the king, let a search be made in the royal archives there in Babylon, to see if in fact King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this House of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision about this matter.”
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Ezra 5: TLV
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Ezra 5
5
Work on God’s house continues
1Then the prophet Haggai and the prophet Zechariah, Iddo’s son, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of Israel’s God who was over them. 2Subsequently, Zerubbabel, Shealtiel’s son, and Jeshua, Jozadak’s son, began to rebuild God’s house in Jerusalem. God’s prophets were with them, helping them.
3At the same time, Tattenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues came to them and spoke to them, asking, “Who authorized you to build this house and finish preparing#5.3 Heb lacks preparing. this building material?”#5.3 Heb uncertain; so also 5:9 4They#5.4 LXX, Syr, Aram We also asked them, “What are the names of the people who are building this building?” 5But their God looked after the elders of the Jews, and they didn’t stop them until a report reached Darius and a letter with his response had arrived.
Writing to King Darius
6This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai and his colleagues the officials who were in the province Beyond the River sent to King Darius. 7In the message they sent him, the following was written:
To King Darius, all peace! 8Let the king know that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built with dressed stone and with timber set into the walls. This work makes good progress and prospers in their hands. 9We asked those elders, “Who authorized you to build this house and to complete the preparation of this material?” 10We also asked them their names so that we could write down the names of the leaders for your information.
11This was their reply to us: “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and completed. 12But because our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he gave them over into the power of Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and deported the people to Babylonia. 13However, in the first year of his rule, Babylon’s King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. 14King Cyrus also took the gold and silver equipment from God’s house out of the temple in Babylon (the ones that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and placed in the temple in Babylon) and gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor. 15Cyrus said to him, ‘Take this equipment and go and put it in Jerusalem’s temple, and let God’s house be rebuilt on its original site.’ 16Then Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of God’s house in Jerusalem. From then until now the rebuilding work has continued but is not yet complete.”
17And now, if it seems good to the king, may a search be made in the royal archives in Babylon to see if King Cyrus had issued a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then may the king be pleased to send us his decision about this matter.
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