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and they were not prevented from building until word could be sent to Darius concerning them and a report made.
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A copy of the letter which Sisinnes the governor of Syria and Phoenicia, and Sathrabuzanes, and their associates the local rulers in Syria and Phoenicia, wrote and sent to Darius:
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"To King Darius, greeting. Let it be fully known to our lord the king that, when we went to the country of Judea and entered the city of Jerusalem, we found the elders of the Jews, who had been in captivity,
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building in the city of Jerusalem a great new house for the Lord, of hewn stone, with costly timber laid in the walls.
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These operations are going on rapidly, and the work is prospering in their hands and being completed with all splendor and care.
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Then we asked these elders, `At whose command are you building this house and laying the foundations of this structure?'
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And in order that we might inform you in writing who the leaders are, we questioned them and asked them for a list of the names of those who are at their head.
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They answered us, `We are the servants of the Lord who created the heaven and the earth.
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And the house was built many years ago by a king of Israel who was great and strong, and it was finished.
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But when our fathers sinned against the Lord of Israel who is in heaven, and provoked him, he gave them over into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of the Chaldeans;
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and they pulled down the house, and burned it, and carried the people away captive to Babylon.