Ezra 5

After years of stalled work, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah stir the Jews to resume building the temple. Persian officials come to question their authority and write to King Darius. The chapter shows God quietly watching over His people while the matter goes to the throne.

Ezra 5:1

After the work had stopped for years, God sent two prophets to wake the people up. They spoke in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them, and not only over the Persian empire. God’s word came first, and the building followed.

BSA: prophesied (“to speak or sing by inspiration, often used to predict the future”): The prophets spoke what God gave them, not their own ideas, and their words moved the people to act.

See also: Haggai 1:1-8; Zechariah 1:1.

Ezra 5:2

The people’s leaders, Zerubbabel the governor and Jeshua the high priest, rose up and started building again. The prophets stood beside them and helped. Good leadership and God’s word working together got the temple moving.

BSA: rose up (“stood up, took a stand”): They ended their long hesitation and took a stand.

See also: Haggai 1:12-14.

Ezra 5:3-4

Tattenai, the Persian governor over the lands west of the Euphrates, came to inspect. He asked who had given permission and wanted the builders’ names. His questions were official and cautious. Persian rulers kept careful watch over their provinces.

BSA: authorized (“gave a decree, commanded”): The question was about a legal order from the king, not about whether the work was good.

Ezra 5:5

Here is the heart of the chapter. God’s eye was on the elders, and nothing stopped the work while the report traveled to Darius and his answer came back. The people were not working alone. God’s watchful care was over them.

BSA: eye (“watchful care, divine attention”): This is not a cold stare but God’s caring attention, guarding His people. stopped (“prevented, hindered”): No official power could halt the work while God was watching over it.

See also: Psalm 33:18; Psalm 34:15.

Ezra 5:6-7

Ezra now gives the text of the letter itself. It is written in the formal style of the empire, with the senders listed and a courteous greeting. The greeting wishes the king complete peace.

BSA: peace (“prosperity, well-being, shalom”): The greeting wished the king wholeness and well-being, not just a lack of trouble.

Ezra 5:8

The officials honestly report what they saw. The temple is going up with large stones and timber set in the walls, and the work is moving quickly. They even call it the house of the great God. The work was visibly prospering.

BSA: diligently (“eagerly, with haste”): The builders were working with real energy and zeal. prospering (“advancing, succeeding”): The work was moving forward under God’s blessing, which even outsiders could see.

Ezra 5:9-10

The officials repeat the question they had put to the elders and explain why they asked for names. They wanted to give the king a record of who was responsible. Their purpose was to inform the king, not to stop the work on their own authority.

BSA: leaders (“chiefs, heads”): The officials wanted to know exactly who headed the project so the king could be told.

Ezra 5:11

The elders answer plainly. They say they are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and they are rebuilding the temple Solomon built long ago. They claim no right for themselves and put their service to the Creator first.

BSA: servants (“bondservants, worshipers”): They described themselves as belonging to God and living to serve Him. heaven and earth (“the sky and the spiritual realm”): They confess that their God is Lord over everything, not just a local deity.

See also: 1 Kings 6:14.

Ezra 5:12

The elders speak with humility. They admit that their ancestors’ sin brought the judgment. God handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar, who destroyed the temple and took the people to Babylon. They do not blame bad luck or Babylon’s power alone.

BSA: angered (“provoke to wrath”): Their fathers’ sin had stirred God’s anger, and the exile was not an accident. hand (“power, authority”): Babylon’s strength was only a tool in God’s hand.

See also: 2 Chronicles 36:15-19; Jeremiah 25:8-11.

Ezra 5:13

The story turns with the words ‘in his first year, however.’ Cyrus, who conquered Babylon, issued a decree to rebuild God’s house. The elders point to the king’s own law as their authority. This is the same decree recorded in Ezra 1.

See also: Ezra 1:1-4; Isaiah 44:28.

Ezra 5:14-15

Cyrus brought out the sacred gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and entrusted them to Sheshbazzar, whom he made governor. He told him to put them in the temple and rebuild on its original site. God’s holy things were returned.

BSA: articles (“utensils, vessels”): These were the sacred items used in temple worship, now restored to their rightful place.

See also: Ezra 1:7-11.

Ezra 5:16

The elders explain what has happened since. Sheshbazzar laid the foundation, and the work has gone on, with long interruptions, but the temple is not yet finished. The Hebrew-speaking reader can hear the honesty: they do not hide that it has taken a long time.

BSA: foundation (“base, starting point”): The temple’s beginning was real and recorded, and the finishing is what remains.

See also: Ezra 3:10; Zechariah 4:9.

Ezra 5:17

The officials do not take sides. They ask the king to search the royal archives in Babylon to check the elders’ claim and to send back his decision. They leave the matter in his hands. God would use the king’s records to protect His house.

BSA: archives (“king’s treasure house, storehouse of important records”): Persian kings kept official documents, so Cyrus’s decree could be found and checked.

See also: Ezra 6:1-3; Proverbs 21:1.