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Ezra 5
New King James Version
Ezra 5
New King James Version
Restoration of the Temple Resumed(A)
5 Then the prophet (B)Haggai and (C)Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2 So (D)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of [a]Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and (E)the prophets of God were with them, helping them.
3 At the same time (F)Tattenai the governor of the region beyond [b]the River and Shethar-Boznai and their companions came to them and spoke thus to them: (G)“Who has commanded you to build this [c]temple and finish this wall?” 4 (H)Then, accordingly, we told them the names of the men who were constructing this building. 5 But (I)the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius. Then a (J)written answer was returned concerning this matter. 6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai sent:
The governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, (K)and his companions, the Persians who were in the region beyond the River, to Darius the king.
7 (They sent a letter to him, in which was written thus.)
To Darius the king:
All peace.
8 Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judea, to the [d]temple of the great God, which is being built with [e]heavy stones, and timber is being laid in the walls; and this work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands.
9 Then we asked those elders, and spoke thus to them: (L)“Who commanded you to build this temple and to finish these walls?” 10 We also asked them their names to inform you, that we might write the names of the men who were chief among them.
11 And thus they returned us an answer, saying: “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the [f]temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built (M)and completed. 12 But (N)because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of (O)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and (P)carried the people away to Babylon. 13 However, in the first year of (Q)Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to build this [g]house of God. 14 Also, (R)the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple that was in Jerusalem and carried into the temple of Babylon—those King Cyrus took from the temple of Babylon, and they were given to (S)one named Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor. 15 And he said to him, ‘Take these articles; go, carry them to the temple site that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its former site.’ 16 Then the same Sheshbazzar came and (T)laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem; but from that time even until now it has been under construction, and (U)it is not finished.”
17 Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, (V)let a search be made in the king’s treasure house, which is there in Babylon, whether it is so that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send us his pleasure concerning this matter.
Ezra 5
New International Version
Ezra 5
New International Version
Tattenai’s Letter to Darius
5 Now Haggai(A) the prophet and Zechariah(B) the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied(C) to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel(D) son of Shealtiel and Joshua(E) son of Jozadak set to work(F) to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.
3 At that time Tattenai,(G) governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai(H) and their associates went to them and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?”(I) 4 They[a] also asked, “What are the names of those who are constructing this building?” 5 But the eye of their God(J) was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received.
6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, the officials of Trans-Euphrates, sent to King Darius. 7 The report they sent him read as follows:
To King Darius:
Cordial greetings.
8 The king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timbers in the walls. The work(K) is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction.
9 We questioned the elders and asked them, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?”(L) 10 We also asked them their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.
11 This is the answer they gave us:
“We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple(M) that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished. 12 But because our ancestors angered(N) the God of heaven, he gave them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.(O)
13 “However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree(P) to rebuild this house of God. 14 He even removed from the temple[b] of Babylon the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple[c] in Babylon.(Q) Then King Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar,(R) whom he had appointed governor, 15 and he told him, ‘Take these articles and go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem. And rebuild the house of God on its site.’
16 “So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God(S) in Jerusalem. From that day to the present it has been under construction but is not yet finished.”
17 Now if it pleases the king, let a search be made in the royal archives(T) of Babylon to see if King Cyrus did in fact issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.