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Esdras 5

BLIVRE · Chapter 5/10

1E o profeta Ageu, e Zacarias filho de Ido, profetas, profetizaram aos judeus que estavam em Judá e em Jerusalém, em nome do Deus de Israel, a eles.

2Então se levantaram Zorobabel, filho de Sealtiel, e Jesua, filho de Jozadaque; e começaram a reconstruir a casa de Deus que está em Jerusalém; e com eles os profetas de Deus, que os ajudavam.

3Naquele tempo veio a eles Tatenai, capitão da região além do rio, e Setar-Bozenai e seus companheiros, e lhes perguntaram assim:Quem vos deu ordem para reconstruir esta casa, e restaurar estes muros?

4Então assim lhes dissemos quais eram os nomes dos homens que reconstruíam este edifício.

5Mas os olhos de seu Deus estavam sobre os anciãos dos judeus, e não os impediram, até que a causa viesse a Dario; e então responderam por carta sobre isso.

6Teor da carta que Tatenai, o governador além do rio, e Setar-Bozenai, e seus companheiros os afarsaquitas, que estavam além do rio, enviaram ao rei Dario.

7Enviaram-lhe uma carta, e assim estava escrito nela: Toda a paz ao rei Dario.

8Seja conhecido do rei, que fomos à província de Judeia, à casa do grande Deus, a qual é edificada com grandes pedras; e a madeira é posta nas paredes, e a obra se faz apressadamente, e tem sido próspera a em suas mãos.

9Então perguntamos aos anciãos, dizendo-lhes assim: Quem vos deu ordem para reconstruir esta casa, e para restaurar estes muros?

10E também lhes perguntamos seus nomes para os informar a ti; para que pudéssemos escrever a ti os nomes dos homens que eram os seus líderes.

11E nos deram esta resposta, dizendo: Nós somos servos de Deus do céu e da terra, e reconstruímos a casa que a muitos anos antes tinha sido construída, a qual um grande rei de Israel iniciou e terminou de construir.

12Mas depois que nossos pais provocaram à ira o Deus dos céus, ele os entregou nas mãos de Nabucodonosor, rei de Babilônia, o caldeu, o qual destruiu esta casa, e transportou o povo para a Babilônia.

13Porém no primeiro ano de Ciro, rei da Babilônia, o rei Ciro fez um decreto para reconstruir esta casa de Deus.

14E até os utensílios de ouro e de prata da casa de Deus, que Nabucodonosor tinha tomado do templo que estava em Jerusalém, e os tinha posto no templo da Babilônia, o rei Ciro os tirou do templo da Babilônia, e foram entregues a um chamado Sesbazar, a quem pusera por governador.

15E disse-lhe: Toma estes utensílios, vai, [e] põe-os no templo que está em Jerusalém; e seja reconstruída a casa de Deus em seu lugar.

16Então este Sesbazar veio, e pôs os fundamentos da casa de Deus, que está em Jerusalém, e desde então até agora foi reconstruída, e ainda não foi terminada.

17Agora, pois, se for do agrado do rei, busque-se na casa dos tesouros do rei que está ali na Babilônia, se é [verdade] que rei Ciro foi feito decreto para reconstruir esta casa de Deus em Jerusalém, e seja nos enviada a vontade do rei acerca disto.

📖 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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