7
They sent a report to him in which it was written thus: "To Darius the king, all peace.
8
"Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, which is being built with huge stones, and beams are being laid in the walls; and this work is going on with great care and is succeeding in their hands.
9
"Then we asked those elders and said to them thus, 'Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?'
10
"We also asked them their names so as to inform you, and that we might write down the names of the men who were at their head.
11
"Thus they answered us, saying, 'We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth and are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.