The Persian officials sent a report to King Darius in the traditional form of a letter (verses 8-22). The report states only facts with no opinion being expressed:

1) they went to Jerusalem,
2) they observed the state of the Temple building project,
3) they requested information about authorization for the project and a list of names, and
4) they received the reply of those responsible for the project.

Now they were requesting confirmation of this information from the royal archives.

We suggest that the body of the letter be indented from the main body of the text (so Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version). See the comments on 1 Esd 2.3. Translators should bear in mind while working with this passage that this is an official letter, written in a formal, legal style. They should never leave the reader in doubt as to meaning, but any devices they can use to convey to the reader the formal nature of the letter would be appropriate.

To King Darius, greeting: This formal introduction indicates that the letter is to the king, and uses a standard greeting to begin the letter. We may say “We send greetings to Your Majesty, Darius” or “Greetings, Your Majesty Darius.” In cultures where kings still exist, translators will have suitable formal ways of greeting a king.

Let it be fully known to our lord the king that …: See the comments on 1 Esd 2.18. With the phrase our lord the king, the letter writers are indicating their lowly position in regard to the king. Readers must not receive the impression that the writers are referring to the king as a god. Alternative renderings for this clause are “We want Your Majesty to know that…” and “We wish to inform Your Majesty that….”

When we went to the country of Judea and entered the city of Jerusalem may be translated simply “We went to Jerusalem in Judah” (Contemporary English Version).

We found the elders of the Jews, who had been in captivity may be expressed as “We found the Jewish leaders who had been in exile [or, had come from Babylonia].”

Building in the city of Jerusalem a great new house for the Lord may be rendered “building in that city a large new Temple for the Lord.”

Of hewn stone, with costly timber laid in the walls: Hewn stone is stone that has been worked with tools so that the surfaces are flat, and the walls built with them smooth. Costly timber refers to expensive lumber used for building the Temple (see 1 Esd 5.55). Precisely how the wood was used is not clear from the Greek expression rendered laid in the walls, but it is sufficient to say that the Temple walls were at least partly made of wood (compare 1 Kgs 6.15-16).

Here are possible models for verses 8-9:

• 8 “We send greetings to Your Majesty Darius. We want Your Majesty to know that we recently went to Judah and entered the city of Jerusalem. There we found the leaders of the Jews who had returned from exile [or, Babylonia] 9 building in that city a large new Temple for the Lord. They are making it of cut stone, and using expensive wood in the walls.

• 8 “To King Darius: Greetings. We want Your Majesty to know what we found in the province of Judah when we entered Jerusalem. The leaders of the Jews, who recently returned from exile, 9 are building in that city a large new Temple for the Lord. They are making it of cut stone, and using expensive wood in the walls.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Esdras. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.