Ezra 5 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

Now 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.

Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak got up and started rebuilding the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were right there with them, supporting them.

Right away, Tattenai, governor of the region west of the Euphrates, along with Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, came to them and asked, "Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and finish this structure?"

They also asked them, "What are the names of the men who are doing this construction?"

But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they weren't stopped until a report could go to Darius and a written reply come back about this matter.

This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of the region west of the Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and his associates — the officials in the region west of the Euphrates — sent to King Darius.

They sent him a report, and this is what was written in it: "To King Darius — complete peace!"

"The king should know that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It's being built with large stones, and timbers are being set in the walls. The work is being done with care and is making good progress under their hands."

"We questioned the elders and asked them, 'Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and finish this structure?'"

"We also asked their names so we could write them down and let you know who their leaders are."

"This is the answer they gave us: 'We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago — one that a great king of Israel built and completed.'"

"'But because our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this house and deported the people to Babylon.'"

"'But in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.'"

"'Also, the gold and silver items from the house of God that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple in Babylon — King Cyrus took those out of the temple in Babylon and gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed as governor.'"

"'He told him: Take these items, go put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site.'"

"'Then that Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. From then until now it has been under construction, but it's not finished yet.'"

"So now, if the king agrees, let a search be done in the royal archives there in Babylon to find out whether King Cyrus really did issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision on this matter."