Ezra 5

All 17 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.

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1. 1Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even to them.
2. 2Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God in Jerusalem, with the prophets of God helping them.
3. 3At the same time, Tatnai, the governor on this side of the river, along with Shethar-boznai and their companions, came to them and said, 'Who commanded you to build this house and to finish this wall?'
4. 4Then we said to them, 'What are the names of the men working on this building?'
5. 5But the eye of their God was upon the Jewish elders, so the officials couldn't force them to stop until the matter was brought to King Darius. Then they sent a letter with their response about this matter.
6. 6This is a copy of the letter that Tatnai, the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, along with Shetharboznai and his companions the Apharsachites, who were in that region, sent to King Darius:
7. 7In their letter, they wrote: "To King Darius — greetings and peace.
8. 8Your Majesty should know that we traveled to the province of Judah and visited the temple of the great God. It is being built with large stones, and timber is being set into the walls. The work is moving ahead quickly and making great progress.
9. 9We questioned the elders there and asked them, 'Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore these walls?'
10. 10We also asked for their names so we could report them to you and write down the names of their leaders.
11. 11This is the answer they gave us: 'We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are building the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and set up.'
12. 12But because our ancestors provoked the God of heaven to anger, he handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar, the Chaldean king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.
13. 13However, in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon, Cyrus issued a decree authorizing the rebuilding of this house of God.
14. 14Cyrus also removed from the temple in Babylon the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. He handed them over to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed as governor.
15. 15Cyrus told him, 'Take these articles back to the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site.'
16. 16So Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of the house of God in Jerusalem. Construction has continued from that day to this, but it still isn't finished.'
17. 17So if it pleases the king, we ask that a search be made in the royal archives there in Babylon to confirm whether King Cyrus actually issued a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then please send us the king's decision on this matter."