⁷ They sent a letter to him, in which was written:

To Darius the king, all peace.

⁸ Be it known to the king that we went into the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, which is built with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls. This work goes on with diligence and prospers in their hands. ⁹ Then we asked those elders, and said to them thus, “Who gave you a decree to build this house, and to finish this wall?”