Ezra 5
1 Te vaengah tonghma Haggai neh tonghma Iddo capa Zekhariah te tonghma rhoi. Amih rhoi tah a soah Israel Pathen ming a phuk thil Judah neh Jerusalem kah Yahudi tonghma rhoek ni.
The prophets Haggai and Zechariah, son of Iddo, gave messages to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem from the God of Israel, their ruler.
2 Te vaengah Shaeltiel capa Zerubbabel neh Jozadak capa Jeshua te thoo tih Jerusalem kah Pathen im sak ham te a tong uh. Pathen tonghma rhoek khaw amih rhoi taengah om tih amih rhoi te a bom uh.
Then Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, son of Jozadak, decided to start work on rebuilding God's Temple in Jerusalem. The prophets of God encouraged them and helped them.
3 Te vaeng tue ah amih taengla sok paem boei Tattenai, Shetharboznai neh a hui rhoek te cet. Te phoeiah amih te, “He im sak ham neh he imbang coeng ham nangmih taengah saithainah aka pae te unim?
Almost immediately Tattenai, the governor of the province west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their fellow officials arrived and asked, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this Temple and finish it?”
4 He im aka sa hlang rhoek ming te amih taengah ka thui uh bal coeng,” a ti uh.
Then they asked, “What are the names of the men who are working on this building?”
5 Tedae amih kah Pathen mik loh Yahudi a hamca rhoek a om thil dongah Darius taengla hlangcal pawk tih te ham te ca a mael hlan hil amih te paa sak pawh.
But their God was watching over the Jewish leaders, so that they were not prevented from working until a report could be sent to Darius and a written reply with instructions was received.
6 Sok paem boei Tattenai, Shetharboznai neh a hui rhoek, sok paem kah boei rhoek loh Darius manghai taengla ca tlaep te a pat.
The following is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor of the province west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their fellow officials, officials of the province, sent to King Darius.
7 Anih taengla ol a pat uh vaengah a khui ah he tlam he a daek. Darius manghai taengah ngaimongnah boeih om saeh.
The report they sent him read went like this: “To King Darius: Greetings.
8 Judah paeng kah boeilen Pathen im la ka caeh te manghai taengah mingpha saeh. Te te lung nu a sak uh tih thoh khuiah thing neh a pae. Imsak he tluem tluem a saii tih a kut dongah bi khaw song.
We wish to inform Your Majesty that we went to the province of Judah, to the Temple of the great God. It is being built with large stones, with timber beams being placed on the walls. This work is being done properly and is progressing well.
9 A hamca rhoek te ka dawt tangloeng bal tih amih te, “He im sak ham neh imbang he coeng ham nangmih taengah saithainah aka pae te unim?” ka ti uh.
We questioned the leaders, asking them, ‘Who gave you permission to rebuild this Temple and finish it?’
10 Nang taengah mingpha sak ham amih te a ming khaw ka dawt uh. Amih lu soah hlang rhoek ming te khaw ka daek uh hamla.
We also asked for their names, so that we could write them down and let you know the names of their leaders.
11 Tedae ol te kaimih taengla ham mael uh tih amamih te, “Kaimih tah vaan neh diklai Pathen kah a tueihyoeih rhoek ni. Im a sak he hlamat kum a yet lamloh sak tangtae om coeng. Israel kah manghai boeilen loh a sak tih a coeng.
This is the answer they gave us. ‘We are servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the Temple built and completed many years ago by a great king of Israel.
12 Tedae a pa rhoek loh vaan Pathen te a veet uh lamloh amih te Khalden kah Babylon manghai Nebukhadnezzar kut ah a paek. Te vaengah im he a khaih tih pilnam he Babylon la a khuen.
But our forefathers made the God of heaven angry, so he handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this Temple and deported the people to Babylon.
13 Babylon manghai Cyrus kah kah kum ah tah manghai Cyrus loh Pathen im he sak hamla saithainah a paek.
However, Cyrus, king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, issued a decree to rebuild this Temple of God.
14 Pathen im kah hnopai pataeng sui neh cak khaw Jerusalem bawkim lamkah te, Nebukhadnezzar loh a loh tih Babylon kah bawkim la a khuen. Te te Cyrus manghai loh Babylon bawkim lamkah a loh. Te phoeiah a ming Sheshbazzar la a khue tih boei la a khueh taengah a paek uh.
He even gave back the gold and silver items belonging to God's Temple, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem and placed in his temple in Babylon. King Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor,
15 Te phoeiah anih te, “Hnopai he khuen lamtah cet laeh. Te Jerusalem kah bawkim ah khueh laeh. Pathen im khaw amah hmuen ah sa saeh,” a ti nah.
telling him, Take these items and place them in the Temple in Jerusalem. Rebuild God's Temple on its original site.
16 Sheshbazzar cet tangloeng tih Jerusalem kah Pathen im te khoengim a tloeng. Te lamlong tah tahae hil a sak uh dae coeng uh pawh.
So Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of God's Temple in Jerusalem. It has been under construction since then, but hasn't yet been completed.’
17 Manghai ham khaw a ngaih coeng mak atah Babylon manghai kah cabu im kah te pahoi thoelh saeh. Jerusalem ah Pathen im sak hamla manghai Cyrus lamloh saithainah a paek te a om khaming. Te dongah manghai kah a ngaihnah mah kaimih taengla ham pat saeh.
So, if Your Majesty wishes, authorize a search to be made of the royal archives in Babylon to discover if there is a record that King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild God's Temple in Jerusalem. Then please let us know Your Majesty's decision in this matter.”
