⁸ Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, and it is being built with huge stones, and timber is being put within the walls; and that work is going on with all diligence and is succeeding in their hands.

⁹ Then we asked those elders and said to them thus, ‘Who issued you a decree to rebuild this house and to complete this structure?’

¹⁰ And we also asked them their names in order to make known to you, and that we might write down the names of the men who were at their head.