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¹ And the prophets have prophesied (Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah son of Iddo) to the Jews who [are] in Judah and in Jerusalem, in the Name of the God of Israel—to them.² Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jozadak, have risen, and begun to build the house of God, that [is] in Jerusalem, and with them are the prophets of God supporting them.

³ At that time have come to them Tatnai, governor beyond the river, and Shethar-Boznai, and their companions, and thus they are saying to them, "Who has made for you a decree to build this house, and to finish this wall?"⁴ Then we have said thus to them, "What [are] the names of the men who are building this building?"⁵ And the eye of their God has been on [the] elders of [the] Jews, and they have not caused them to cease until [the] matter goes to Darius, and then they send back a letter concerning this thing.⁶ The copy of a letter that Tatnai, governor beyond the river, has sent, and Shethar-Boznai and his companions, the Apharsachites who [are] beyond the river, to Darius the king.⁷ A letter they have sent to him, and thus is it written in it:⁸ "To Darius the king, all peace! Be it known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the great house of God, and it is built [with] rolled stones, and wood is placed in the walls, and this work is done speedily, and prospering in their hand.⁹ Then we have asked of these elders, thus we have said to them, Who has made for you a decree to build this house, and to finish this wall?¹⁰ And also their names we have asked of them, to let you know, that we might write the names of the men who [are] at their head.¹¹ And thus they have returned us word, saying, We [are] servants of the God of the heavens and earth, and are building the house that was built many years before this, that a great king of Israel built and finished:¹² but after that our fathers made the God of the heavens angry, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon the Chaldean, and this house he destroyed, and the people he removed to Babylon;¹³ but in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree to build this house of God,¹⁴ and also, the vessels of the house of God, of gold and silver, that Nebuchadnezzar had taken forth out of the temple that [is] in Jerusalem, and brought them to the temple of Babylon, them has Cyrus the king brought forth out of the temple of Babylon, and they have been given to [one], Sheshbazzar [is] his name, whom he made governor,¹⁵ and said to him, Lift up these vessels, go, put them down in the temple that [is] in Jerusalem, and the house of God is built on its place.¹⁶ Then this Sheshbazzar has come—he has laid the foundations of the house of God that [is] in Jerusalem, and from there even until now it has been building, and is not finished.¹⁷ And now, if it is good to the king, let a search be made in the treasure-house of the king, that [is] there in Babylon, whether it be that there was a decree made by Cyrus the king to build this house of God in Jerusalem, and the will of the king concerning this thing he sends to us."