“And the prophets Haggai and Zechariah prophesied, etc. These things are more fully written in the books of these prophets; with words by which they either reproved the laziness of those who had been more negligent towards the work of the temple, or stirred them to work with the promise of God's aid; by which devotion at their exhortation, Zerubbabel, Joshua, and all the people set themselves to the work of building the house of the Lord. And indeed the prophet Haggai begins thus: In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet saying: Speak to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and to Joshua, the son of Jozadak, the high priest, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: This people says, The time has not yet come to build the house of the Lord. And the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet saying: Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? (Haggai I). And shortly after: And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius (Ibid.). And in the following, which we placed above: The glory of this latter house will be greater than that of the former, says the Lord of hosts (Haggai II). Likewise, Zechariah begins thus: In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet (Zech. I). From which title it is clearer how Ezra names him the son of Iddo, evidently because he was the grandson of him. But Iddo himself is to be understood as a noble prophet, of whom Zechariah, as a distinguished prophet, is rightly called his son. Among these, it must be noted the great spirit of these prophets, who ordered the temple to be built against the decree of such a great king and the Samaritans, and all the surrounding peoples hindering the construction of the temple. Zerubbabel and Joshua, and the people who were with them, are likewise proven to have been of no less faith, as they listened to the prophets commanding rather than the king forbidding. But since we have often spoken in this volume about Zerubbabel and Joshua, or Jesus (for it is the same name), how they designated the Lord Savior, the king and high priest both by lineage and act, it seems appropriate to explain their names as they signify Him. Zerubbabel is therefore called a garden in Babylon, or master of Babylon; Shealtiel, my request is God; Jesus or Joshua, savior; Jozadak, the Lord is just. And indeed openly, as the son of Nun clearly signifies the Lord Christ Jesus. Hence each led the people into the promised land, that one from a long stay in the wilderness, this one from the longer captivity, in a figure of the true Jesus, who, delivering His chosen from all evils, leads them to the joys of the promised heavenly kingdom; who is the son of Jozadak, that is, of the Lord's just one, about whom it is sung in the psalm: The Lord just shall crush the necks of sinners, be ashamed and be turned back, all who hate Zion (Psalm 128). Zerubbabel, called a garden in Babylon, refers historically to him because he was born there, being of the lineage of David, who was born in Bethlehem. According to allegory, it pertains to the Lord; who, that He might lead from the confusion of errors, deigned to arise and dwell for a time in Babylon, that is, in the confusion of this world. He is also called the master of Babylon, not that he teaches the things of Babylon, that is, of this world; but because he instructs those whom he found oppressed by the yoke of Babylon to the grace of freedom, and leads the instructed to the walls of the heavenly homeland. His father is Shealtiel, that is, my request is God, who himself says in the psalm: Request of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance (Psalm 2). But also, each faithful one invoking the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when seeking none other than God himself from Him, can rightly be named Shealtiel, that is, my request is God, according to the dictum of the Psalmist: For what is there for me in heaven, and what have I desired on earth besides you (Psalm 73)? and the rest, until he says: But for me it is good to be near to God. Our petition is therefore God, when we seek only Him from Him, so that we may be deemed worthy to enjoy the eternal vision of Him.”

“At that time, Thathannai came to them, etc. The sense of the letter is clear, because the leaders of the Jews, strengthened by the words of the prophets, were not able to be hindered by the persecution of the enemies from the holy work, which they had ceased from for fear of the enemies while the prophets still rested. What is now carried out in the holy Church in the same manner, while those who had become more lukewarm towards good work due to the snares of evil men or spirits remained for a while, suddenly corrected by the words of either faithful teachers or divine Scriptures, begin to boil over with good endeavors to such an extent that they cannot be overcome by any machinations of temptations, nor can they be recalled from their intended purpose. However, it is rightly asked how it was said, "To which we responded to them," as if he who wrote was present at that time, since Ezra is said to have written this book, who is found not to have been in Jerusalem at this time but came much later during the reign of Artaxerxes. Either he was truly there at that time when the temple was being built and returned to Babylon after the temple was made to lead more of the children of Israel back to Jerusalem; or certainly, even if he was not there while the temple was being built, he nonetheless joined with those who were building, because he considered everything that was done concerning his brothers or that they did as his own. Similarly, the Apostle also, for the sake of fraternal concord, in a way associates himself with the saints who will be at the end of the age: "We," he says, "who are alive, who remain, will not precede those who have fallen asleep at the coming of our Lord" (I Thess. IV).”

“The third evil counselor is he who leads what is certain into doubt. Whence it is said in Ezra that certain ones who were from across the river came to the Jews and said: 'Who gave you counsel to build this house and restore its walls?' The Jews had the counsels of God and of the prophets; yet those from across the river came to give counsel, though they did not know what was being done in Jerusalem. Some do not know what is done in religious life, and yet they wish to give counsel and say to one wishing to enter: 'What do you wish to do? Attend to the divine good pleasure: It is better to be in the will of God than in the hand of counsel.' By this way, if you wish to wait until the Lord reveals it to you, and you do not wish to do what Holy Scripture and holy men tell you, and what Christ inspires in you, you will always be able to be at a crossroads.”

“And it pleased them that the matter should be referred to Darius, etc., until the end of the letter. This letter that Thathannai writes to Darius is very different from the letter that Rehum and Samsai wrote to Artaxerxes. For that letter was filled with accusations against the people of Jerusalem, whereas this one is full of praise not only of the people but also of Almighty God. Indeed, it begins thus: "To King Darius, all peace. Let it be known to the king, that we went to the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is being built with unpolished stone, and timber is being laid in the walls, and this work is being diligently built, and it grows in their hands. Therefore, we questioned these elders, and thus we said to them: Who gave you the authority to build this house? etc." In these words, it is also noteworthy how it is said, the house of God is built with unpolished stone; since it is evident that such a work could only have been done with polished stones. But "unpolished stone" should be understood to mean new stone, which they indeed found unpolished, but by polishing, they made it fit for building the house of the Lord: for even if some of the old stones, which, as Jeremiah lamentingly shows (Lamentations 4), were scattered at the head of every street, remained, it is nonetheless doubtful that new stones had to be polished, from which the work of the temple could be completed. In which indeed there is an evident mystery, since we see the Church of God being built, not only from those who repentantly return to the life of holiness which they previously lost by sinning; but also from those who recently have been called to faith, composed under the instruction of teachers like the rule of craftsmen, and placed in the building of the house of the Lord in a suitable order. Although it can also be rightly understood this way, that the temple was built of both old and new stones, of long-polished and more recently unpolished stones; since from both peoples, namely the Jews and the Gentiles, one Church of Christ is gathered; one, which was long polished in knowledge and observance of God's law; the other, which was enslaved to idolatry, had shed the deformity of a rustic and earthly mind by no industry of spiritual architects, by no cult of piety. And what follows in the same letter: And timber is placed in the walls. The timber that was placed for the monument or ornament of the walls of the temple signified the same life of the saints in the ornament of the holy Church, which the stones also signify, as we have taught above. These timbers the prophet mentions in a psalm, in which the house of the Lord is built after the captivity: "Then all the trees of the forest will rejoice before the face of the Lord, because he comes, for he comes to judge the earth" (Psalm 96). Indeed, the hearts of the once proud rejoice because they were cut from the impious mount of ancestral tradition, and have deserved to be transferred into the construction of the house of the Lord. They rejoice before the face of the Lord, because he comes to judge the earth; whose strict judgment they have anticipated by a healthy fear, and whose coming once they dreaded as sinners, now corrected and justified, they eagerly desire. That former letter, therefore, was written with insidious intent, this one with friendly letters; and rightly so, because the former was from the Samaritan enemies of the Jews everywhere; but this one was sent by the governor of the region beyond the river, that is, lower Syria and Phoenicia, and by his associates, who had no domestic enmities against the Jews, but only wished to know and execute the will of the king, from whom they received the authority of governance. Hence, the Samaritans, who wrote the first letter inciting the king's anger against the builders of the temple, are rightly compared to heretics, who often so defile the Church with vile plagues that they even make it hateful to the Gentiles and arouse their fury against it. Nevertheless, this governor of Syria, who does not accuse but consults the king about the work of the house of God, rightly represents those who, still situated in gentile life, marvel at the faith and works of the Church; nor do they deny that they would believe if they could understand that this is the true and just worship of divinity. Finally, hearing from the elders of the Jews, when they gave an account of their construction: "We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are building the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and completed. But because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house; and the rest, which they answered about the renovation of the same temple, which was commanded by Cyrus." Having nothing further to contradict with his advisers, nor wishing to impede the builders, he was simply inquiring whether Cyrus had indeed ordered the temple to be built, and whether Darius himself wanted it built. Having recognized the will of both kings, along with his own, he diligently aided the construction of the temple that the entire work might be completed, as is written subsequently. All these things harmonize with the mind and action of those who, previously living a gentile life, suddenly witnessing the conduct of the holy Church, desire to hear and learn the rationale of the same religion; and at last, recognizing that this originated from the God of heaven and earth, who is the only true God, they themselves, believing, rejoice to assist its building. But let us see what King Darius did when he received the letter from the governor and his advisers.”