7. (They sent a letter to him, in which was written thus)To Darius the king:All peace.
8. Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judea, to the temple of the great God, which is being built with heavy stones, and timber is being laid in the walls; and this work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands.
9. Then we asked those elders, and spoke thus to them: “Who commanded you to build this temple and to finish these walls?”
10. We also asked them their names to inform you, that we might write the names of the men who were chief among them.