14 So the Jewish elders (leaders) continued to build. And they were successful as Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo encouraged them. Those people finished building the temple. This was done to obey the command of the God of Israel. It was also done to obey the orders that Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia, gave.
14 And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
14 And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished their building as commanded by the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
14 And the elders of the Jews builded and prospered, through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the decree of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
14 So the elders of the Jews built and prospered because of the prophesying of the prophet Haggai and Zechariah, Iddo’s son. They finished building by the command of Israel’s God and of Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes of Persia.
14 Then the elders of the Jews were building and prospering, in accord with the prophecy of Haggai, the prophet, and Zechariah, the son of Iddo. And they built and constructed by the order of the God of Israel, and by the order of Cyrus and Darius, as well as Artaxerxes, the kings of the Persians.
14 And the ancients of the Jews built, and prospered according to the prophecy of Aggeus the prophet, and of Zacharias the son of Addo. And they built and finished, by the commandment of the God of Israel, and by the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes kings of the Persians.
So, in the second month {\cf2\super [13]} of the second year after their arrival at the temple in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak began the work. Their brothers, the priests, Levites, and every person that came back to Jerusalem from captivity, began working with them. They chose Levites that were 20 years old and older to be the leaders in the building of the Lord’s temple.
But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other family leaders of Israel answered, “No, you people can’t help us build a temple for our God. Only we can build the temple for the Lord. He is the God of Israel. This is what King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us to do.”
At that time, the prophets Haggai {\cf2\super [25]} and Zechariah son of Iddo {\cf2\super [26]} began to prophesy {\cf2\super [27]} in the name of God. They encouraged the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem.
So Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak again started working on the temple in Jerusalem. All of God’s prophets were with them and were supporting the work.
Now I give this order. You must do these things for the Jewish leaders building God’s temple: The cost of the building must be fully paid from the king’s treasury. That money will come from the taxes collected from the provinces in the area west of the Euphrates River. Do these things quickly, so the work will not stop.
After these things, {\cf2\super [43]} during the rule of Artaxerxes {\cf2\super [44]} king of Persia, Ezra came to Jerusalem from Babylon. Ezra was the son of Seraiah. Seraiah was the son of Azariah. Azariah was the son of Hilkiah.
Yes, we were slaves, but you would not let us be slaves forever. You were kind to us. You made the kings of Persia be kind to us. Your temple was ruined. But you gave us new life so we can build your temple again and fix it like new. God, you helped us build a wall to protect Judah and Jerusalem.
The Lord says to Cyrus, {\cf2\super [398]} \par “You are my shepherd.\par You will do the things I want.\par You will say to Jerusalem,\par ‘You will be built again!’\par You will tell the temple, {\cf2\super [399]} \par ‘Your foundations will be built again!’”\par
On the first day of the sixth month of Darius’ second year as king \{of Persia\}, Haggai received a message from the Lord. This message was for Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jehozadak. Zerubbabel was the governor of Judah and Joshua was the high priest. This is the message:
Go up to the mountains to get the wood. And build the temple. {\cf2\super [3]} Then I will be pleased with the temple, and I will be honored.” The Lord said these things.
Zechariah son of Berekiah received a message from the Lord. This was in the eighth month of the second year that Darius was king {\cf2\super [1]} in Persia. (Zechariah was the son of Berekiah. Berekiah was the son of Iddo the prophet.) This is that message:
So the Lord says,\par “I will come back to Jerusalem\par and comfort her.”\par The Lord All-Powerful says,\par “Jerusalem will be built again.\par And my house will be built there.”\par
“Zerubbabel will lay the foundations for my temple. And Zerubbabel will finish building the temple. Then you will know that the Lord All-Powerful sent me to you people.
The Lord All-Powerful says, “Be strong! You people are hearing the same message today that the prophets gave when the Lord All-Powerful first laid the foundations to build his temple again.