- 1Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them.
- 2Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them.
- 3 At the same time came to them Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shethar-boznai, and their companions, and said thus unto them, Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall?
- 4Then said we unto them after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building?
- 5But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius: and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter.
- 6 The copy of the letter that Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shethar-boznai, and his companions the Apharsachites, which were on this side the river, sent unto Darius the king:
- 7They sent a letter unto him, wherein was written thus; Unto Darius the king, all peace.
- 8Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands.
- 9Then asked we those elders, and said unto them thus, Who commanded you to build this house, and to make up these walls?
- 10We asked their names also, to certify thee, that we might write the names of the men that were the chief of them.
- 11And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up.
- 12But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon.
- 13But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God.
- 14And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought them into the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus the king take out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered unto one, whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor;
- 15And said unto him, Take these vessels, go, carry them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be builded in his place.
- 16Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem: and since that time even until now hath it been in building, and yet it is not finished.
- 17Now therefore, if it seem good to the king, let there be search made in the king’s treasure house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.
KING JAMES VERSION
EZRA 5
Read the chapter, follow a linked verse, and continue into related Watchman 33 teaching.
CHAPTER VISUAL
Ezra 5 — Prophetic encouragement renews the temple work, and Judah’s elders answer an official inquiry by recalling Cyrus’s decree.
About this illustration
Prophetic support, resumed construction, and Tattenai’s inquiry meet at the active building site. The officials are shown as administrators rather than villains, and their records carry no visible text.
Scripture basis: Ezra 5:1–17King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom
EXPLORE THE MESSAGE
Related Watchman 33 Resources
Archaeological Evidence
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArtifact
Fifth–second centuries BC, with earliest coinage mainly fourth century BC
Yehud Coinage and Stamp Impressions
Tiny silver coins and hundreds of jar-handle impressions bearing YHD or Yehud independently materialize Persian-period Judah’s name, mint, and administration while leaving the exact institutions behind each issue debated.
Ezra 5:1–17 · Ezra 7:11–26 · Nehemiah 5:14–19
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
Reign of Darius I
Tattannu Governor Tablet
A Babylonian legal text dated to Darius I names a servant of Tattannu, governor of Across-the-River, closely matching Tattenai's uncommon name and Persian provincial office in Ezra.
Ezra 5:3–17 · Ezra 6:6–13
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArtifact
Persian period, sixth–fifth century BCE
Persian-Period Sealing Assemblage from Giv‘ati
A double clay seal impression and an oversized locally made pottery stamp from a Persian-period activity surface document renewed administration amid the ruins of Babylonian-destroyed Jerusalem.
Ezra 5:1–5 · Nehemiah 7:1–4 · Nehemiah 11:1–2
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
Hasmonean period, about first century BC
4QEzra (4Q117): Ezra's Aramaic Correspondence
Three Hasmonean fragments preserve Ezra 4-6 in Hebrew and Imperial Aramaic, supplying the earliest material witness to the book’s administrative correspondence and Cyrus-decree narrative.
Ezra 4:2–11 · Ezra 5:17 · Ezra 6:1–5
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
late sixth to early fifth century BC
Hermopolis Aramaic Family Letters
A group of late-sixth- or early-fifth-century BC Aramaic papyrus letters from Hermopolis preserves family greetings, goods, travel, and invocations of Bethel, Banit, and Nabu. The archive illuminates Persian-period life and religious plurality in Egypt without securely identifying its correspondents as Judeans.
Jeremiah 44:15–25 · Ezra 4:7 · Ezra 5:6–17
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
reign of Darius I, approximately 510-497 BC
Darius I's Suez Canal Stelae
Multilingual granite stelae set along Darius I's canal between the Nile system and Red Sea proclaim Persian kingship in Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian, and Egyptian forms. They illuminate the imperial world of Ezra, Haggai, and Zechariah without mentioning Judah or Jerusalem's temple.
Ezra 5:6–17 · Ezra 6:1–15 · Haggai 1:1