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Ezra 5

Ezra 5 places the renewed temple work under God’s care while its authorization comes under Persian scrutiny.

Haggai and Zechariah prophesy to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem, and Zerubbabel and Jeshua begin rebuilding God’s house with the prophets’ help. Tattenai, the regional governor, questions their authority and sends a report to King Darius. The elders explain the temple’s destruction and Cyrus’s decree authorizing its rebuilding. While the officials await a royal answer, construction continues under God’s watchful care. The chapter closes with a request to search the royal records.

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1Now the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem. They prophesied to them in the name of the God of Israel.
2Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build God’s house which is at Jerusalem; and with them were the prophets of God, helping them.
3At the same time Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, came to them, with Shetharbozenai and their companions, and asked them, “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this wall?”
5But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they didn’t make them cease until the matter should come to Darius, and an answer should be returned by letter concerning it.
6The copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, and Shetharbozenai, and his companions the Apharsachites who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king follows.
7They sent a letter to him, in which was written: To Darius the king, all peace.
8Be it known to the king that we went into the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, which is being built with great stones and timber is laid in the walls. This work goes on with diligence and prospers in their hands.
11Thus they returned us answer, saying, “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth and are building the house that was built these many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.
12But after our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried the people away into Babylon.
13But in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree to build this house of God.
14The gold and silver vessels of God’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, those Cyrus the king also took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor.
15He said to him, ‘Take these vessels, go, put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let God’s house be built in its place.’
16Then the same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of God’s house which is in Jerusalem. Since that time even until now it has been being built, and yet it is not completed.
17Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, let a search be made in the king’s treasure house, which is there at Babylon, whether it is so that a decree was made by Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem; and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.”
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Key verses
Ezra 5:2The leaders begin rebuilding with the prophets beside them, linking God’s spoken word with renewed work on his house.
Ezra 5:5God’s watchful care allows the elders to keep building while the question of royal authorization remains unresolved.
Ezra 5:13Cyrus’s decree supplies the historical basis for the elders’ answer and the officials’ request to search the records.
Where this chapter reaches

Haggai and Zechariah share the setting of temple rebuilding and the prophetic support associated here with Zerubbabel and Jeshua. 2 Chronicles shares the account of the temple’s destruction, the exile to Babylon, and Cyrus’s decree authorizing the rebuilding of God’s house in Jerusalem.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What stands out about the elders’ account of their identity, their fathers’ wrongdoing, and Cyrus’s decree?

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How does the unfinished inquiry shape your understanding of God’s care in verse 5?

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Questions people ask about Ezra 5

Who was Tattenai in Ezra 5?

Tattenai was the governor of the Persian region described as beyond the River. He inspected the temple work, asked who had authorized it, and reported the elders’ answer to Darius. His letter requests a records search and royal direction; the chapter does not state his personal motives.

What does “the eye of their God” mean in Ezra 5:5?

The phrase describes God’s watchful care over the Jewish elders. Its concrete effect in the account is that the officials do not stop construction while awaiting Darius’s answer. Questions about authorization remain open at the chapter’s end, so God’s care is shown amid an unresolved inquiry.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).