4
"By whose order are you building this house and this roof and finishing all the other things? Who are the builders who are doing all of these things?"
5
Yet the elders of the Judeans enjoyed the gracious protection of the Lord on the exiles,
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and they weren't prevented from building until Darius could be informed about them and return an answer.
7
Here is a copy of the letter that Sisinnes, the commander of Syria and Phoenicia, Sathrabuzanes, and their associates, the local officials in Syria and Phoenicia, wrote to Darius:
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To King Darius. Greetings. Our master the king, may you know that when we came to the country of Judea and entered the city of Jerusalem, we found the elders of the Jews, who had been in captivity, building in the city of Jerusalem a large new house for the Lord, of polished stone with costly beams set in the walls.