The elders of the Jews continued to make progress in the building, supported by the message of the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, son of Iddo. They finished the building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus and Darius, and of Artaxerxes, king of Persia.
On the first day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king, the word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and to the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak:
Thus says the Lord of hosts: Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words which were spoken by the prophets when the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid for the building of the temple.