Now when the prophets, ^aHaggai the prophet and ^bZechariah, the son (grandson) of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, whose Spirit was over them, 2 then ^aZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel heir to the throne of Judah and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem; and ^bthe prophets of God Haggai and Zechariah were with them, supporting and encouraging them. Hag 1:12-14; Matt 1:12, 13

3 At that time ^aTattenai, the governor of the province ¹on the west side of the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues came to them and said, “^bWho ²issued you a decree and authorized you to rebuild this temple and to restore this wall (shrine) ?” 4 ^aThen, accordingly, we told them the names of the men who were reconstructing this building. 5 But ^athe eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, so they Tattenai and the others did not stop them until a report could come before Darius, and then an answer was returned by letter concerning it.

6 This is a copy of the letter that ^aTattenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and his associates, ^bthe officials who were west of the River, sent to Darius the king. 7 They sent a report to him in which it was written: “To Darius the king, all peace. 8 Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built with huge stones, with beams laid in the walls; and this work goes on with diligence and care and is succeeding in their hands. 9 Then we asked those elders, ‘Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?’ 10 We also asked them their names so that we might notify you, and so that we might record the names of the men ¹in charge. 11 They replied, ‘We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and are rebuilding the temple ^awhich was erected many years ago, which a ¹great king of Israel built and finished. 12 But ^abecause our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, ^bHe handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and exiled the people to Babylon. 13 But ^ain the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, the same King Cyrus ^bissued a decree to rebuild this house of God. 14 Also ^athe gold and silver utensils of the house of God which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and had brought into the temple of Babylon, King Cyrus took from the temple of Babylon and had them given to a man ^bwhose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor. 15 And Cyrus said to him, “Take these utensils, go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site.” 16 Then that Sheshbazzar came and ^alaid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem; and from then until now it has been under construction and is ^bnot yet completed.’ 17 So now, if it pleases the king, ^alet a search be conducted in the king’s treasure house in the royal archives there in Babylon to see if it is true that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild this house of God at Jerusalem; and let the king send us his decision concerning this matter.”

When the prophets, ^aHaggai the prophet and ^bZechariah 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, 2 then ^aZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and ^bthe prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

3 At that time ^aTattenai, the governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues came to them and spoke to them as follows: “^bWho issued you a decree to rebuild this ¹temple and to finish this structure?” 4 ^aThen we told them accordingly what the names of the men were who were reconstructing this building. 5 But ^athe eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report could reach Darius, and then the decree concerning it could be sent back.

6 This is the copy of the letter that ^aTattenai, the governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and his colleagues ^bthe officials, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. 7 They sent the report to him in which it was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace. 8 May it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God which is being built with large stones, and ¹beams are being laid in the walls; and this work is being performed with great care and is succeeding in their hands. 9 Then we asked those elders and said to them as follows: ‘Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?’ 10 We also asked them their names so as to inform you, in order that we might write down the names of the men who were ¹in charge. 11 So they ¹answered us as follows, saying, ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, ^awhich a great king of Israel built and finished. 12 But ^abecause our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, ^bHe handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon. 13 However, ^ain the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus ^bissued a decree to rebuild this house of God. 14 Also ^athe gold and silver utensils of the house of God which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought them to the temple of Babylon, King Cyrus took them from the temple of Babylon and they were given to one ^bwhose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor. 15 And he said to him, “Take these utensils, go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and have the house of God rebuilt in its place.” 16 Then that Sheshbazzar came and ^alaid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem; and from then until now it has been under construction and it is ^bnot yet completed.’ 17 And now, if it pleases the king, ^alet a search be conducted in the king’s treasure house, which is there in Babylon, as to whether a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem; and let the king send to us his decision concerning this matter.”