Ezra 5

After a long period of stagnation, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah encourage the leaders, Zerubbabel and Jeshua, to resume the work of rebuilding the Temple, relying on God’s command rather than human permission. The people obey and restart the construction. Tattenai, the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, questions their authority to rebuild. The Jewish leaders explain they have the original decree from King Cyrus. Tattenai writes a letter to King Darius asking him to verify the decree, suspending the work while awaiting the king's reply.