Ezra 5:10

10 We also asked them their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.

Ezra 5:10 in Other Translations

10 We asked their names also, to certify thee, that we might write the names of the men that were the chief of them.

10 We also asked them their names, for your information, that we might write down the names of their leaders.

10 And we demanded their names so that we could tell you who the leaders were.

10 We also asked for their names so we could pass them on to you and have a record of the men at the head of the construction work.

10 We also asked them for their names, so that we could 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 The king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timbers in the walls. The work is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction.

9 We questioned the elders and asked them, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?”

10 We also asked them their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.

11 This is the answer they gave us: “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished.

12 But because our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.