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Esdras 5

ARC · Chapter 5/10

1E Aggeo , propheta, e Zacharias, filho d'Iddo, prophetas, prophetizaram aos judeos que estavam em Judah, e em Jerusalem: em nome do Deus de Israel lhes prophetizaram.

2Então se levantaram Zorobabel, filho de Sealtiel, e Josué, filho de Josadak, e começaram a edificar a casa de Deus, que está em Jerusalem; e com elles os prophetas de Deus, que os ajudavam.

3N'aquelle tempo veiu a elles Tattenai, governador d'áquem do rio, e Sethar-boznai, e os seus companheiros, e disseram-lhes assim: Quem vos deu ordem para edificardes esta casa, e restaurardes este muro?

4Então assim lhes dissemos: E quaes são os nomes dos homens que edificaram este edificio?

5Porém os olhos de Deus estavam sobre os anciãos dos judeos, e não os impediram, até que o negocio viesse a Dario, e então respondessem por carta sobre isso

6Copia da carta que Tattenai, o governador d'áquem do rio, com Sethar-boznai e os seus companheiros, os apharsachitas, que estavam d'áquem do rio, enviaram ao rei Dario.

7Enviaram-lhe uma relação; e assim estava escripto n'ella: "Toda a paz ao rei Dario.

8Seja notorio ao rei, que nós fomos á provincia de Judah, á casa do grande Deus, que se edifica com grandes pedras, e já a madeira se está pondo sobre as paredes; e esta obra apressuradamente se faz, e se adianta em suas mãos

9Então perguntámos aos anciãos, e assim lhes dissemos: Quem vos deu ordem para edificardes esta casa, e restaurardes este muro?

10De mais d'isto, lhes perguntámos tambem pelos seus nomes, para t'os declararmos: para que te podessemos escrever os nomes dos homens que são entre elles os chefes.

11E esta resposta nos deram, dizendo: Nós somos servos de Deus dos céus e da terra, e reedificamos a casa que foi edificada muitos annos antes; porque um grande rei d'Israel a edificou e aperfeiçoou.

12Mas depois que nossos paes provocaram á ira o Deus dos céus, elle os entregou na mão de Nabucodonosor, rei de Babylonia, o chaldeo, o qual destruiu esta casa, e transportou o seu povo para Babylonia.

13Porém no primeiro anno de Cyro, rei de Babylonia, o rei Cyro deu ordem para que esta casa de Deus se edificasse.

14E até os vasos de oiro e prata, da casa de Deus, que Nabucodonosor tomou do templo que estava em Jerusalem e os metteu no templo de Babylonia, o rei Cyro os tirou do templo de Babylonia, e foram dados a um homem cujo nome era Sesbazar, a quem nomeou governador.

15E disse-lhe: Toma estes vasos, vae, e leva-os ao templo que está em Jerusalem, e faze edificar a casa de Deus, no seu logar.

16Então veiu o dito Sesbazar, e poz os fundamentos da casa de Deus, que está em Jerusalem e desde então para cá se está edificando, e ainda não está acabada.

17Agora, pois, se parece bem ao rei, busque-se lá na casa dos thesouros do rei, que está em Babylonia, se é verdade que se deu uma ordem pelo rei Cyro para edificar esta casa de Deus em Jerusalem; e sobre isto se nos manda saber a vontade do rei."

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The prophets Haggai and Zechariah encourage the people to resume building the temple, which had come to a halt. Local Persian authorities question the legality of the work and write to King Darius to confirm whether authorization had truly been given.

Explanation

After years at a standstill, the work on the temple resumes not because of favorable political pressure, but because of the courageous preaching of two prophets who reignite the people's faith. It's an example of how the prophetic word can reverse collective discouragement. When the Persian officials question the legitimacy of the rebuilding, the Jewish leaders respond with an honest, historical explanation of the situation, trusting that the truth would be confirmed in the royal archives. The practical lesson is that, faced with questioning, the best response is often documented truth, paired with patience for justice to be established.

Fun facts

  • Haggai and Zechariah are the authors of prophetic books of the Old Testament, and their messages from this period are recorded in greater detail in the books that bear their names.
  • The respect for legal process shown here (searching the royal archives for proof of Cyrus's decree) reflects the meticulous administration of the Persian empire, which kept detailed records in its various capitals.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Esdras 5:1After years of stalled work, two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, begin speaking in God's name, urging the people to resume building the temple.
  2. Esdras 5:2Encouraged by the prophets' words, Zerubbabel and Jeshua decide to resume construction, now with the direct backing of those speaking in God's name.
  3. Esdras 5:3Tatnai was the Persian governor of the region west of the Euphrates, and it was his job to oversee everything being built in his territory. He arrives asking who authorized rebuilding the temple and the wall, which shows that even with Cyrus's decree, the Jews still had to answer to local authorities.
  4. Esdras 5:4The Persian officials also want to know the names of those working on the project, probably to identify who was responsible in case an account was needed later.
  5. Esdras 5:5Despite the pressure from the Persian officials, no one manages to stop the work this time — the text credits this to God's watchful eye over the Jewish leaders, while they wait for King Darius's answer.
  6. Esdras 5:6Here begins the transcription of the letter Governor Tatnai sent to King Darius, asking for instructions on what to do about the temple project.
  7. Esdras 5:7The letter opens with the usual formal greeting, wishing the king all peace, before getting into the report on what was happening in Jerusalem.
  8. Esdras 5:8Tatnai reports that the temple is being built with great stones and that timber is already being fitted into the walls — the work was moving fast and was well made.
  9. Esdras 5:9The report repeats the question the officials had asked the Jewish leaders in person: who had authorized this rebuilding.
  10. Esdras 5:10Tatnai also records that he asked for the names of those in charge, precisely so he could tell the king exactly who was leading the work.
  11. Esdras 5:11The Jews themselves answer by telling the whole story: that the house had been built by a great king long ago, destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and that they are now rebuilding it by order of Cyrus. It is a defense that uses the official letter itself to prove they are within the law, not rebelling.
  12. Esdras 5:12The Jews themselves explain the reason for the first temple's destruction: according to them, it was God's punishment for their ancestors' disobedience, which resulted in Nebuchadnezzar's conquest.
  13. Esdras 5:13They point out that it was Cyrus himself, already in the first year of his reign over Babylon, who gave the original order for this house of God to be rebuilt.
  14. Esdras 5:14The Jews also mention that Cyrus had returned the sacred vessels, handing them over to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he himself had appointed governor of the province.
  15. Esdras 5:15According to the account, Cyrus himself personally instructed Sheshbazzar to carry the vessels back and rebuild the house of God on its former site.
  16. Esdras 5:16Sheshbazzar really did lay the temple's first foundations, but the work sat unfinished for decades, right up to the moment this letter was being written.
  17. Esdras 5:17Finally, Tatnai asks that Darius himself have the royal archives in Babylon searched to confirm whether this story about Cyrus's decree is really true.

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