Ezra 5:10

10 We also asked them their names. We wanted to write down the names of their leaders for your information.

Ezra 5:10 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 5:10

We asked their names also
The names of the elders, those that set men about this work:

to certify that we might write the names of the men that were the chief
of them;
take the names of them in writing, that they might with certainty acquaint the king who they were, and that if it was necessary they might be called to an account for what they were doing.

Ezra 5:10 In-Context

8 We 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.

9 We 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?"

10 We also asked them their names. We wanted to write down the names of their leaders for your information.

11 Here 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.

12 But 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.