11'This was their reply to us: "We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago. It was a great king of Israel who built and completed it."'
12'But because our ancestors angered the God of heaven, He gave them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, 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 temple of God.'
14And even the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple in Babylon, these King Cyrus took out of the temple in Babylon and handed over to Sheshbazzar, whom he appointed as governor.
15And he said to him, 'Take these vessels and go; deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site.'
16Then this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. And from that time until now, it has been under construction and is not yet completed.
17And now, if it seems good to the king, let a search be made in the royal archives in Babylon to determine if a decree was indeed issued by King Cyrus to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision concerning this matter.