5The prophets Haggai and Zechariah prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. They spoke to them in the name of the God of Israel. He had spoken to those prophets. Zechariah belonged to the family line of Iddo.

²Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, began to work. So did Jeshua, the son of Jehozadak. They began to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were right there with them. They were helping them.

³At that time Tattenai was governor of the land west of the Euphrates River. He and Shethar-Bozenai and their friends went to the Jews. They asked them, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple? Who told you that you could make this building like new again?” ⁴They also asked, “What are the names of the men who are putting up this building?”

⁵But the God of the Jews was watching over their elders. So they didn’t have to stop their work. First a report would have to be sent to Darius. Then they would have to receive his answer in writing.

⁶Here is a copy of the letter that was sent to King Darius. It was from Tattenai, the governor of the land west of the Euphrates. Shethar-Bozenai joined him in writing it. So did their friends. They were officials of that land. ⁷The report they sent to the king said,

We are sending this letter to you, King Darius.

We give you our most friendly greetings.

⁸We want you to know that we went to the land of Judah. We went to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones. They are putting wooden beams in the walls. The people are working hard. The work is moving ahead very quickly under the direction of the people.

⁹We asked the elders some questions. We said to them, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple? Who told you that you could make this building like new again?” ¹⁰We also asked them their names. We wanted to write down the names of their leaders for your information.

¹¹Here is the answer they gave us. They said,

“We serve the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago. The great King Solomon built it and finished it. ¹²But our people made the God of heaven angry. So he handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar from Chaldea. He was king of Babylonia. He destroyed this temple. He forced the Jews to leave their own country. He took them away to Babylonia.

¹³“But King Cyrus gave an order to rebuild this house of God. He gave it in the first year he was king of Babylonia. ¹⁴He even removed some gold and silver articles from the temple of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar had brought them there from the house of God in Jerusalem. He had taken them to the temple in Babylon.

“Then King Cyrus brought them out. He gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar. Cyrus had appointed him as governor. ¹⁵He told him, ‘Take these articles with you. Go and put them in the temple in Jerusalem. Rebuild the house of God in the same place where it stood before.’

¹⁶“So Sheshbazzar made the trip to Jerusalem. He laid the foundations of the house of God there. From that day until now the people have been working on it. But they haven’t finished it yet.”

¹⁷If it pleases you, King Darius, let a search be made in the official records of the kings of Babylonia. Find out whether King Cyrus really did give an order to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then tell us what you decide to do.

King Darius Sends a Reply to Tattenai

6King Darius gave an order. He had a search made in the official records that were stored among the treasures at Babylon. ²A scroll was found in a safe storeroom at Ecbatana in the land of Media. Here is what was written on it.

This is my official reply to your letter.

³In the first year that Cyrus was king, he gave an order. It concerned God’s temple in Jerusalem. It said,

Rebuild the temple. Then the Jews can offer sacrifices there. Lay its foundations. The temple must be 90 feet high and 90 feet wide. ⁴Its walls must have three layers of large stones. They must also have a layer of beautiful wood. Use money from the royal treasures to pay for everything.

⁵The gold and silver articles from the house of God must be returned. Nebuchadnezzar had taken them from the first temple in Jerusalem. And he had brought them to Babylon. Now they must be returned to their places in the temple at Jerusalem. They must be put in the house of God there.

⁶Tattenai, you are governor of the land west of the Euphrates River. I want you to stay away from the temple in Jerusalem. Shethar-Bozenai and the other officials of that area must also stay away from it. ⁷Don’t try to stop the work on God’s temple. Let the governor of the Jews and their elders rebuild the house of their God. Let them build it in the same place where it stood before.

⁸Here is what I want you to do for the elders of the Jews. Here is how you must help the men who build the house of their God.

Pay all of their expenses from the royal treasures. Use the money you collect from the people who live west of the Euphrates. Don’t let the work on the temple stop. ⁹Don’t fail to give the priests in Jerusalem what they ask for each day. Give them what they need. Give them young bulls, rams and male lambs. The priests can use them to sacrifice burnt offerings to the God of heaven. Also give them wheat, salt, wine and olive oil. ¹⁰Give them those things so they can offer sacrifices that please the God of heaven. And I want them to pray that things will go well for me and my sons.

¹¹Don’t change this order. If a man tries to change it, he must be put to death. A pole must be pulled from his house. The pole must be stuck through his body. Then it must be set up where people can see it. Because the man tried to change my royal order, his house must be broken to pieces. ¹²God has chosen to put his Name in the temple at Jerusalem. May he wipe out any king or nation that lifts a hand to change this order. May he also wipe out anyone who tries to destroy the temple in Jerusalem.

That’s what I have ordered. I am King Darius. Make sure you carry out my order.

The Temple Is Completed and Set Apart to God

¹³The governor Tattenai carried out the order King Darius had sent. So did Shethar-Bozenai and their friends.

¹⁴The elders of the Jews continued to build the temple. They enjoyed great success because of the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Zechariah belonged to the family line of Iddo.

The people finished building the temple. That’s what the God of Israel had commanded them to do. Cyrus and Darius had given orders allowing them to do it. Later, Artaxerxes supplied many things that were needed in the temple. Those three men were kings of Persia.

¹⁵So the temple was completed on the third day of the month of Adar. It was in the sixth year that Darius was king.

¹⁶When the house of God was set apart, the people of Israel celebrated with joy. The priests and Levites joined them. So did the rest of those who had returned from Babylonia. ¹⁷When the house of God was set apart to him, the people sacrificed 100 bulls. They also sacrificed 200 rams and 400 male lambs. As a sin offering for the whole nation of Israel, the people sacrificed 12 male goats. One goat was sacrificed for each tribe in Israel.

¹⁸The priests were appointed to their companies. And the Levites were appointed to their groups. All of them served God at Jerusalem. They served him in keeping with what is written in the Scroll of Moses.

The People Celebrate the Passover Feast

¹⁹Those who had returned from Babylonia celebrated the Passover Feast. It was on the 14th day of the first month. ²⁰The priests and Levites had made themselves pure and clean. The Levites killed the Passover lamb for everyone who had returned from Babylonia. They also did it for themselves and their relatives, the priests.

²¹So the people of Israel who had returned ate the Passover lamb. They ate it together with all those who had separated themselves from the practices of their neighbors who weren’t Jews. Those practices were “unclean.” The people worshiped the Lord. He is the God of Israel.

²²For seven days they celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread with joy. That’s because the Lord had filled them with joy. They were glad because he had changed the mind of the king of Persia. So the king had helped them with the work on the house of the God of Israel.

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