Bible Verses About The Second Temple

Then the people of the land began discouraging the people of Y'hudah, in order to make them afraid to build.

They also bribed officials to frustrate their plan throughout the lifetime of Koresh king of Persia and on into the reign of Daryavesh king of Persia.

During the reign of Achashverosh, at the beginning of his reign, they brought a charge in writing against the people living in Y'hudah and Yerushalayim.

Then, during the time of Artach'shashta, Bishlam, Mitr'dat, Tav'el and their other colleagues wrote Artach'shashta; the letter was written in Aramaic, using Aramaic script.

Rechum the district governor and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against Yerushalayim to Artach'shashta the king as follows:

"From Rechum the district governor, Shimshai the secretary, their other colleagues, the judges, the officials, the Dina'im, the Afarsat'khim, the Tarp'lim, the Afarsim, the Ark'vim, the Bavlim, the Shushan'kayim, the Dehayim, the 'Elma'im,

the other nations whom the great and noble Asnapar deported and settled in Shomron, and the others who remain in the country beyond the [Euphrates] River."

(This is the text of the letter they sent him.) "To Artach'shashta the king from his servants the people beyond the River:

"Let the king know that the Judeans who left you to come to us in Yerushalayim are building this rebellious and wicked city. They have finished the walls and are now digging the foundations.

So let the king know that if this city is rebuilt and the walls are finished, they will refuse to pay tribute, tax or toll; and this will reduce the royal revenue.

Now, because we eat the king's salt, and it is not right for us to see the king dishonored, we therefore are sending to inform the king,

so that a search can be made in the archives of your ancestors; in these archives you will find and ascertain that this city is indeed a rebellious city, the bane of kings and provinces, and that sedition has been fostered there since ancient times - which is why this city was destroyed.

We submit to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls are finished, you will soon lose possession of all territories beyond the River."

So the work on the house of God in Yerushalayim ceased; it remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of Daryavesh king of Persia.

Then Z'rubavel the son of Sh'alti'el and Yeshua the son of Yotzadak began rebuilding the house of God in Yerushalayim; with them were the prophets of God, helping them.

No sooner had they begun, when Tatnai the governor of the territory beyond the [Euphrates] River, Sh'tar-Boznai and their colleagues came and asked them, "Who gave you permission to rebuild this house and finish this wall?

What are the names of the men putting up this building?"

But the eye of their God was on the leaders of the Judeans, so they didn't stop them until the matter could come before Daryavesh and a reply in writing be received.

Here is the text of the letter which Tatnai the governor of the territory beyond the River, Sh'tar-Boznai and their fellow officials beyond the River sent to Daryavesh the king;

they sent him a letter in which it was written: "To Daryavesh the king, "Complete shalom!"

"Let the king know that we went to the province of Y'hudah, to the house of the great God. It is being rebuilt with large stones, and timber is being set in the walls. This work is being done energetically, and it is making good progress under the direction

of their leaders. We asked them, 'Who gave you permission to rebuild this house and finish this wall?'

We also asked them their names, so that we could write you the names of the men in charge of them.

"They gave us this answer: 'We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, built and finished by a great king of Isra'el.

But because our ancestors provoked the God of heaven, he handed them over to N'vukhadnetzar king of Bavel, the Kasdi; he destroyed this house and carried the people off to Bavel.