¶ By the exhortacyon of Aggeus and zachary, in the temple buylded agayne.
CAPI. V.
THe Prophettes, Aggeus and Zachary [unspec A] the sonne of Iddo, prophecyed vnto the Iues that were in Iuda, & Ierusalem / in the name of the god of Israel. Then gat vp Zorobabell the sonne of Salathiell, and Iesua the Sonne of Iosedec, and began to buylde the house of God at Ierusalem / and with them were the prophettes of god, which helped them. At the same tyme came to them Tathnai / whiche was captayne on this syde the water, and Starbaznai, and theyr com∣panyons / and sayde thus vnto them:
Who hath commaunded you to buylde this house, and to make vp these walles? Then tolde we them the names of the men, that made this buyldynge. But the eye of theyr God was vpon the elders of the Iues, that they coulde not cause them to cease, tyll the matter was brought to Darius, and ☞ then they answered by letters therunto.
This is the copye of the letter that Tath∣nai [unspec B] (whiche was Captayne on this syde the water) and Starbaznai, and the coūsaylers of Apharsah (whiche were on this syde the water) sent vnto kyng Darius. And the mat∣ter that they sent vnto hym, was wryttē thus within the letter: Unto Darius the kyng, all peace. Be it knowen vnto the kynge, that we went in to the lande of Iurye to the house of the great God, which is buylded with mygh∣tye great stones, and beames are layde in the walles, and the worke goeth fast forth, and prospereth in theyr handes. Then asked we the elders, and sayde vnto them as it folow∣eth: Who commaunded you to buylde this house, and to make vp the walles therof?
We asked theyr names also, that we myght [unspec C] certifye the, and wryte the names of the men that were theyr rulers. But they answered vs with these wordes, and sayde: We are the seruauntes of hym, that is god of heuen and earth, and buylde the house that was buyl∣ded many yeres a go which a greate kynge of Israel buylded, and set vp. But after that our fathers had prouoked the God of heuen vnto wrath, he gaue them ouer in to the hande of Nabuchodonozer the kynge of Ba∣bilon, & of the Caldyes / whiche brake downe this house, and caryed the people away cap∣tyue vnto Babilon.
But in the fyrst yere of Cyrus the kyng of Babilon, the same kynge Cyrus gaue cō∣maundement [unspec D] concernyng this house of god / that it shulde be buylte agayne. And the ves∣sels of golde and syluer of the house of God, whiche Nabucodo••ozer toke out of the tem∣ple that was at Ierusalem, & brought them into temple at Babilon, those dyd Cyrus the kynge take out of the temple at Babilō, and they were delyuered vnto one Sasbazar by name, whome he made captayne, and sayde vnto hym: Take these vessels, & go thy way, and set them in the temple that is at Ierusa∣lem / and let the house of God be buylded in his place. Then came the same Sasbazar, and layde the foundacyō of the house of god, which is at Ierusalem. Synce that tyme also vntyll now hath it ben in buyldynge, & yet is it not finysshed. Yf it please the kynge nowe therfore, let there be searche made in the kyn∣ges librarie, which is there at Babilon, why∣ther it had ben kyng Cyrus cōmaundement, that this temple of god at Ierusalem shulde be buylded: and let hym sende vs the kynges mynde concernynge the same matter.