Ezra 5:17 (KJV)

What does Ezra 5:17 mean?

Ezra 5:17 records a request to King Darius to check an earlier king’s order about rebuilding the house of God in Jerusalem. The officials want the king to verify the builders’ claim and then send his decision about the work.

The request comes at the end of a letter from the regional governor and his fellow officials. After reporting the builders’ account in verse 16, the officials ask for a search in Babylon, where royal records might preserve Cyrus’s decree. The phrase “if it seem good to the king” gives Darius the choice of whether to order the search.

The Aramaic behind Ezra 5:17

• “treasure” — גְּנַז (genaz): The word can refer to a storehouse or treasury. Here, the “king’s treasure house” is also treated as a place where a royal document could be found.
• “pleasure” — רְעוּ (reʿu): The word carries the sense of a wish or decision. The officials ask Darius to communicate what he wants done about the matter.

Why Ezra 5:17 matters

• The builders’ claim can be checked against a royal record. The letter asks whether Cyrus actually made a decree “to build this house of God at Jerusalem.”
• The officials seek a decision as well as information. The request ends by asking the king to send “his pleasure to us concerning this matter.”
• The search leads to a written record, though not in the place first named. Ezra 6:1–2 reports that a scroll was found at Achmetha after Darius ordered a search.