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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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Ezra 5
5
Tattenai’s Letter to Darius
1The prophets Haggai and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jewish people 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 started working again to rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were there, helping them.
3At that time Tattenai, the governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai, and their fellow workers went to the Jewish people and asked, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this Temple and fix these walls?” 4They also asked, “What are the names of the men working on this building?” 5But their God was watching over the elders of the Jewish people. The builders were not stopped until a report could go to King Darius and his written answer could be received.
6This is a copy of the letter that was sent to King Darius by Tattenai, the governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and the other important officers of Trans-Euphrates. 7This is what was said in the report they sent to him:
To King Darius.
Greetings. May you have peace.
8King Darius, you should know that we went to the district of Judah where the Temple of the great God is. The people are building that Temple with large stones, and they are putting timbers in the walls. They are working very hard and are building very fast.
9We asked their elders, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this Temple and these walls?” 10We also asked for their names, and we wrote down the names of their leaders so you would know who they are.
11This 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 and finished many years ago. 12But our ancestors made the God of heaven angry, so he handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who destroyed this Temple and took the people to Babylon as captives.
13“Later, in the first year Cyrus was king of Babylon, he gave a special order for this Temple to be rebuilt. 14Cyrus brought out from the temple in Babylon the gold and silver bowls and pans that came from the Temple of God. Nebuchadnezzar had taken them from the Temple in Jerusalem and had put them in the temple in Babylon.
“Then King Cyrus gave them to Sheshbazzar, his appointed governor. 15Cyrus said to him, ‘Take these gold and silver bowls and pans, and put them back in the Temple in Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple of God where it was.’ 16So Sheshbazzar came and 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.”
17Now, if the king wishes, let a search be made in the royal records of Babylon. See if King Cyrus gave an order to rebuild this Temple in Jerusalem. Then let the king write us and tell us what he has decided.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.