Ezra 5

1 Now the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, the son of Iddo, were preaching to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel.

Men Profeterne Haggaj og Zakarias, Iddos Søn, profeterede for Jøderne i Juda og Jerusalem i Israels Guds Navn, som var over dem.

2 Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, got up and made a start at building the house of God at Jerusalem: and the prophets of God were with them, helping them.

Da tog Zerubbabel, Sjealtiels Søn, og Jesua, Jozadaks Søn, fat og begyndte at bygge paa Guds Hus i Jerusalem sammen med Guds Profeter, som støttede dem.

3 At the same time, Tattenai, ruler of the land across the river, and Shethar-bozenai, and their men, came to them and said, Who gave you orders to go on building this house and this wall?

Men paa den Tid kom Tattenaj, Statholderen hinsides Floden, Sjetar-Bozenaj og deres Embedsbrødre til dem og sagde: »Hvem har givet eder Lov til at bygge dette Tempel og genopføre denne Helligdom,

4 Then they said these words to them: What are the names of the men who are at work on this building?

og hvad er Navnene paa de Mænd, der bygger denne Bygning?«

5 But the eye of their God was on the chiefs of the Jews, and they did not make them give up working till the question had been put before Darius and an answer had come by letter about it.

Men over Jødernes Ældste vaagede deres Guds Øje, saa de ikke standsede dem i Arbejdet, før Sagen var forelagt Darius og der var kommet Svar derpaa.

6 This is a copy of the letter which Tattenai, the ruler of the land across the river, and Shethar-bozenai and his friends the Apharsachites, living across the river, sent to Darius the king:

Afskrift af det Brev, som Tattenaj, Statholderen hinsides Floden, Sjetar-Bozenaj og hans Embedsbrødre, Afarsekiterne hinsides Floden, sendte Kong Darius;

7 They sent him a letter saying, To Darius the king, all peace:

de sendte ham en Skrivelse, hvori der stod: Kong Darius ønsker vi al Fred!

8 This is to give the king word that we went into the land of Judah, to the house of the great God, which is made of great stones, and has its walls supported with wood, and the work is going on with industry, and they are doing it well.

Det være Kongen kundgjort, at vi begav os til Landsdelen Judæa til den store Guds Hus; det bliver bygget af Kvadersten, der lægges Bjælker i Muren, og Arbejdet udføres med Omhu og skyder frem under deres Hænder.

9 Then we said to the men responsible, who gave you authority for the building of this house and these walls?

Vi spurgte da de Ældste der og talte saaledes til dem: »Hvem har givet eder Lov til at, bygge dette Tempel og opføre denne Helligdom?

10 And we made request for their names, so that we might send you word, and give you the names of the men at the head of them.

Vi spurgte dem ogsaa om deres Navne for at lade dig dem vide, og vi opskrev Navnene paa de Mænd, der staar i Spidsen for dem.

11 And they made answer to us, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are building the house which was put up in times long past and was designed and made complete by a great king of Israel.

Og Svaret, de gav os, lød saaledes: Vi er Himmelens og Jordens Guds Tjenere, og vi bygger det Tempel, som blev bygget for mange Aar siden, da en stor Konge i Israel byggede og opførte det.

12 But when the God of heaven was moved to wrath by our fathers, he gave them up into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the Chaldaean, who sent destruction on this house and took the people away into Babylon.

Da imidlertid vore Fædre vakte Himmelens Guds Vrede, gav han dem i Babels Konges, Kaldæeren Nebukadnezars, Haand, og han nedbrød dette Tempel og førte Folket i Landflygtighed til Babel.

13 But in the first year of Cyrus, king of Babylon, Cyrus the king gave an order for the building of this house of God;

Men i sit første Regeringsaar gav Kong Kyros af Babel Befaling til at genopbygge dette Gudshus;

14 And the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple which was in Jerusalem, and put into the house of his god in Babylon, these Cyrus the king took from the house of his god in Babylon, and gave to one named Sheshbazzar, whom he had made ruler;

og Kong Kyros lod tillige de til Gudshuset hørende Guld— og Sølvkar, som Nebukadnezar havde borttaget fra Helligdommen i Jerusalem og ført til sin Helligdom i Babel, tage ud af Helligdommen i Babel, og de overgaves til en Mand ved Navn Sjesjbazzar, som han havde indsat til Statholder;

15 And he said to him, Go, take these vessels, and put them in the Temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be put up again in its place.

og han sagde til ham: «Tag disse Kar og drag ben og lad dem faa deres Plads i Helligdommen i Jerusalem og lad Gudshuset blive genopbygget paa sin gamle Plads!»

16 Then this same Sheshbazzar came and put the house of God in Jerusalem on its bases: and from that time till now the building has been going on, but it is still not complete.

Saa kom denne Sjesjbazzar og lagde Grunden til Gudshuset i Jerusalem, og siden den Tid er der bygget derpaa, men det er ikke færdigt.

17 So now, if it seems good to the king, let search be made in the king's store-house at Babylon, to see if it is true that an order was given by Cyrus the king for the building of this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send us word of his pleasure in connection with this business.

Hvis derfor Kongen synes, saa lad der blive set efter i det kongelige Skatkammer ovre i Babel, om det har sig saaledes, at der af Kong Kyros er givet Befaling til at bygge dette Gudshus i Jerusalem; og Kongen give os saa sin Vilje i denne Sag til Kende!«