1 Esdras 6:8–9

⁸To king Darius, greeting. Let all things be known unto our lord the king, that being come into the country of Judea, and entered into the city of Jerusalem, we found in the city of Jerusalem the ^eancients of the Jews that were of the captivity, ⁹building a house unto the Lord, great and new, of hewn and costly stones, and the timber already laid upon the walls.