5:1 那時，先知哈該和易多的孫子撒迦利亞奉以色列上帝的名向猶大和耶路撒冷的猶大人說勸勉的話。
5:2 於是撒拉鐵的兒子所羅巴伯和約薩達的兒子耶書亞都起來動手建造耶路撒冷上帝的殿，有上帝的先知在那裡幫助他們。
5:3 當時河西的總督達乃和示他‧波斯乃，並他們的同黨來問說：「誰降旨讓你們建造這殿，修成這牆呢？」
5:4 我們便告訴他們建造這殿的人叫甚麼名字。
5:5 上帝的眼目看顧猶大的長老，以致總督等沒有叫他們停工，直到這事奏告大流士，得著他的回諭。
5:6 河西的總督達乃和示他‧波斯乃，並他們的同黨，就是住河西的亞法薩迦人，上本奏告大流士王。
5:7 本上寫著說：「願大流士王諸事平安。
5:8 王該知道，我們往猶大省去，到了至大上帝的殿，這殿是用大石建造的。樑木插入牆內，工作甚速，他們手下亨通。
5:9 我們就問那些長老說：『誰降旨讓你們建造這殿，修成這牆呢？』
5:10 又問他們的名字，要記錄他們首領的名字，奏告於王。
5:11 他們回答說：『我們是天地之上帝的僕人，重建前多年所建造的殿，就是以色列的一位大君王建造修成的。
5:12 只因我們列祖惹天上的上帝發怒，上帝把他們交在迦勒底人巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒的手中，他就拆毀這殿，又將百姓擄到巴比倫。
5:13 然而巴比倫王塞魯士元年，他降旨允准建造上帝的這殿。
5:14 上帝殿中的金、銀器皿，就是尼布甲尼撒從耶路撒冷的殿中掠去帶到巴比倫廟裡的，塞魯士王從巴比倫廟裡取出來，交給派為省長的，名叫設巴薩，
5:15 對他說可以將這些器皿帶去，放在耶路撒冷的殿中，在原處建造上帝的殿。
5:16 於是這設巴薩來建立耶路撒冷上帝殿的根基。這殿從那時直到如今尚未造成。』
5:17 現在王若以為美，請察巴比倫王的府庫，看塞魯士王降旨允准在耶路撒冷建造上帝的殿沒有，王的心意如何？請降旨曉諭我們。」
Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.
3 At that time Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates went to them and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?” 4 They[a] also asked, “What are the names of those who are constructing this building?” 5 But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received.
6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, the officials of Trans-Euphrates, sent to King Darius. 7 The report they sent him read as follows:
To King Darius:
Cordial greetings.
8 The king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timbers in the walls. The work is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction.
9 We questioned the elders and asked them, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?” 10 We also asked them their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.
11 This is the answer they gave us:
“We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished. 12 But because our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.
13 “However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. 14 He even removed from the temple[b] of Babylon the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple[c] in Babylon. Then King Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor, 15 and he told him, ‘Take these articles and go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem. And rebuild the house of God on its site.’
16 “So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. From that day to the present it has been under construction but is not yet finished.”
17 Now if it pleases the king, let a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to see if King Cyrus did in fact issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.
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聖殿的重建雖然受阻，但是上帝仍然是看顧這事，並興起先知哈該和易多的孫子撒迦利亞奉以色列上帝的名向猶大和耶路撒冷的猶大人說勸勉的話。
也在這樣的情況下，撒拉鐵的兒子所羅巴伯和約薩達的兒子耶書亞都起來動手建造耶路撒冷上帝的殿，有上帝的先知在那裡幫助他們。而且官方竟然沒有反對，還上書給皇帝大流士，請求確認：「塞魯士王降旨允准在耶路撒冷建造上帝的殿沒有？」
可見上帝一直在運行祂的旨意，雖然人阻擋，但是上帝卻就由各樣的方式來成就，不禁讓我們想到保羅所說的：「我們曉得萬事都互相效力，叫愛上帝的人得益處，就是按他旨意被召的人。」(羅馬書8:28)
也因為這樣，我們必定要靠主堅忍，不管環境如何，上帝的應許終必成就，特別是基督的再來與上帝國的實現，我們必定在榮耀中與基督同享福樂到永遠，這是不會落空的！
