Ezra 5:1-10

1 Forsooth Haggai, the prophet, and Zechariah, the prophet, the son of Iddo, prophesied, prophesying in the name of (the) God of Israel, to the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem.

2 Then Zerubbabel, the son of Salathiel, and Joshua, the son of Jozadak, rose up, and began to build (again) the temple of God in Jerusalem; and with them rose up the prophets of God, helping them. (And then Zerubbabel, the son of Salathiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, rose up, and began to rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God rose up with them, to help them.)

3 And in that time Tatnai, that was duke beyond the flood, and Shetharboznai, and the counsellors of them, came to them; and said thus to them, Who gave counsel to you to build this house (again), and to restore these walls? (And at that time, Tatnai, who was the governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shetharboznai, and their counsellors, or their officials, came to them; and said to them thus, Who gave counsel to you to rebuild this House, and to restore these walls?)

4 To the which thing we answered to them, and told them, which were the names of (the) men (what the names of the men were), (who were the) authors of that building.

5 Forsooth the eye of [the] God of them was made on the elder men of (the) Jews, and they might not forbid, or hinder, the Jews to build; and it pleased (them) that the thing should be told to Darius, and that then they should make satisfaction against that accusing. (But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, and so they did not forbid, or hinder, the Jews from continuing to build; and it pleased them to report all of this to Darius, but to take no action until he replied to them.)

6 This is the exemplar of the epistle, which Tatnai, duke of the country beyond the flood, and Shetharboznai, and his counsellors, (the) Apharsachites, which were beyond the flood, sent to king Darius. (This is the text of the letter, which Tatnai, the governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shetharboznai, and his counsellors, or his officials, the Apharsachites, who also lived there in the province west of the Euphrates River, sent to King Darius.)

7 The word which they sent to him was written thus; All peace be to king Darius.

8 Be it known to the king, that we went to the province of Judea, to the house of [the] great God, which is (being) builded (again) with stone(s) unpolished, and wood (that) be set in the walls thereof, and that (the) work is builded diligently, and increaseth in the hands of them. (Be it known to the king, that we went to the province of Judah, to the House of the great God, which is being rebuilt with unpolished stones, and timber that be set in its walls, and that the work is being diligently done, and progresseth under their hands.)

9 Therefore we asked those eld(er) men, and thus we said to them, Who gave to you power to build (again) this house, and to restore these walls? (And so we asked those elders, and we said to them thus, Who gave you the authority to rebuild this House, and to restore these walls?)

10 But also we asked of them their names, that we should tell to thee; and we have written the names of those men, which they be, that be princes among them. (And we also asked them their names, so that we could tell them to thee; and we have listed the names of those men, who they be, who be the leaders of this work.)

Ezra 5:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZRA 5

This chapter relates, how that the people of the Jews were stirred up by the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah to set about the building of the temple again, notwithstanding the orders to the contrary from the deputy governors of the king of Persia; nor could the present ones cause them to cease from it; though it must be owned they behaved towards them in a better manner than the former ones did, Ezr 5:1-5, and who, upon the answers received from the Jews, wrote a letter to Darius, to know the truth of things; and in which they seem to state fairly the case of the Jews, as they had it from them, so far as they understood it, Ezr 5:6-17.

\\son of Iddo\\ The grandson of Iddo; for he was the son of Berechiah, Zec 1:1,

\\prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name\\ \\of the God of Israel\\; this they both did in the second year of Darius; the one began in the sixth month, and the other in the eighth month of the year, Hag 1:1, Zec 1:1, even "unto them"; or "against them", as De Dieu; reproving them for their sloth and neglect of building the temple, when they were careful enough to raise up goodly houses for themselves to dwell in; and for being intimidated by the command of the king of Persia, which only forbid the building of the city, that is, the walls of it, but not the temple any more than their own houses; and besides, there was now a new king, from whom they had not so much to fear. 20094-950306-0810-Ezr5.2