8`To Darius the king, all peace! be it known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the great house of God, and it is built [with] rolled stones, and wood is placed in the walls, and this work is done speedily, and prospering in their hand.
9Then we have asked of these elders, thus we have said to them, Who hath made for you a decree this house to build, and this wall to finish?
10And also their names we have asked of them, to let thee know, that we might write the names of the men who [are] at their head.
11`And thus they have returned us word, saying, We [are] servants of the God of heaven and earth, and are building the house that was built many years before this, that a great king of Israel built and finished:
12but after that our fathers made the God of heaven angry, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon the Chaldean, and this house he destroyed, and the people he removed to Babylon;
13but in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree to build this house of God,
14and also, the vessels of the house of God, of gold and silver, that Nebuchadnezzar had taken forth out of the temple that [is] in Jerusalem, and brought them to the temple of Babylon, them hath Cyrus the king brought forth out of the temple of Babylon, and they have been given to [one], Sheshbazzar [is] his name, whom he made governor,
