5. But the Lord was with the people who had returned from exile and was watching over the Jewish leaders,
6. and they were allowed to continue building until Darius could be informed and his reply received.
7. This is the report that the Persian officials sent to the emperor:
8. “To Emperor Darius, greetings.“Your Majesty should know that we went to Judah and to Jerusalem and there we found the leaders of the Jews who had returned from exile
9. building a large new temple for the Lord with expensive, shaped stone blocks and with wooden beams set in the walls.
10. The work is being done rapidly and is moving ahead steadily; yet they are taking great care and making their work look beautiful.
11. “We then asked the leaders of the people to tell us who had given them orders to rebuild the Temple and lay the foundations for the buildings.
12. We also asked them who their leaders were and demanded a list of their names, so that we could inform you.