1 Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.
2 So Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak set to work and began rebuilding the house of God in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.
3 At that time Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues came to them and asked, "Who authorized you to rebuild this house and complete this structure?"
4 We told them, accordingly, the names of the men who were constructing this building.
5 But their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could reach Darius and a written reply be sent back about it.
6 Here is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and his colleagues the Apharsachites in the province Beyond the River sent to King Darius.
7 They sent him a report, and this is what was written in it: "To King Darius: All peace!
8 The king should know that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built with huge stones, and beams are being set into the walls. The work is being carried out with care and is making progress under their hands.
9 We questioned those elders and asked them, 'Who authorized you to rebuild this house and complete this structure?'
10 We also asked their names so that we could inform you, writing down the names of the men in charge.
11 This is the reply they gave us: 'We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and completed.
12 But because our fathers angered the God of heaven, he handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who tore down this house and took the people into exile in Babylon.
13 But in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.
14 King Cyrus even took out of the temple in Babylon the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to the temple in Babylon, and they were handed over to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor.
15 He told him, "Take these vessels, go and place them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site."
16 So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. From then until now it has been under construction and is still not complete.'
17 So now, if it pleases the king, let a search be made in the royal archives there in Babylon to see whether King Cyrus did issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision on this matter."