Ezra 5

Then Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo, both prophets, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak arose and began to build the house of God in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, helping them. At that time Tattenai the governor of Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates came to them and asked, “Who authorized you to build this house and complete this structure?” Then we said to them, “What are the names of the men constructing this building?” But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and the officials did not make them stop pending a report to Darius and a written reply about the matter. This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai the governor of Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and his associates, the Apharsachites in Beyond the River, sent to King Darius. They sent him a report, in which this was written: “To King Darius: All peace. Let it be known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built with large stones, and timber is being laid in the walls. This work is being done diligently and is prospering in their hands. Then we asked those elders, ‘Who authorized you to build this house and complete this structure?’ We also asked them their names to inform you, so that we could write down the names of the men leading them. They gave us this answer: ‘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 it and completed it. But because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to anger, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and exiled the people to Babylon. However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to build this house of God. King Cyrus also brought out from the temple in Babylon the gold and silver vessels of the house of God that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple in Babylon. They were given to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor. He said to him, “Take these vessels, go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site.” Then this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. From then until now it has been under construction and has not been finished.’ Now, if it seems good to the king, let a search be made there in the king's treasury in Babylon to determine whether King Cyrus issued a decree to build this house of God in Jerusalem. Let the king send us his decision about this matter.”

Rights and attribution