5:1  When the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who lived in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who ruled over them,

5:2  then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God accompanied them supporting them.

5:3  At that time Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues came to them and spoke to them thus, "Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?"

5:4  Then we told them accordingly what the names of the men who reconstructed this building.

5:5  But the eye of their God fixed on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until a report could come to Darius, and they would return a written reply concerning it.

5:6  6This constitutes the copy of the letter which Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai and his colleagues the officials, who lived beyond the River, sent to Darius the king.

5:7  They sent a report to him which had become written thus: "To Darius the king, all peace.

5:8  "We acknowledge to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, which people build with huge stones, and lay beams in the walls; and this work they will make with great care and succeed with their hands.

5:9  "Then we asked those elders and said to them thus, 'Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?'

5:10  "We also asked them their names so as to inform you, and that we might write down the names of the men who headed them.

5:11  "Thus they answered us, saying, 'We consider ourselves the servants of the God of heaven and earth and rebuild the temple that people built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.

5:12  'But because our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.

5:13  'However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.

5:14  'Also the 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, these King Cyrus took from the temple of Babylon and they came to one who had the name of Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor.

5:15  'He said to him, "Take these utensils, go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem and let them rebuild the house of God in its place."

5:16  'Then that Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem; and from then until now it has remained under construction and it has not yet reached completion.'

5:17  "Now if it pleases the king, let us conduct a search in the king's treasure house, which locates there in Babylon, if it should come to pass that King Cyrus issued a to rebuild this house of God at Jerusalem; and let the king send to us his decision concerning this matter."