John Gill Commentary Ezra 5:8

"Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls; and this work goeth on with diligence and prospereth in their hands." — Ezra 5:8 (ASV)

Be it known unto the king
This seems to have been the usual form of beginning a letter to a king in those days, (Ezra 4:12) that we went into the province of Judea; which from a kingdom was reduced to a province, and was become a part of the Babylonian, now Persian, monarchy, see (Ezra 2:1) to the house of the great God; as the Jews called the Lord their God; and even the Heathens had a notion that there was one supreme God, though they worshipped inferior ones; and some had a notion that Jehovah the God of the Jews was he:

which is built with great stones ;
marble stones; as Jarchi ^F17 , stones of rolling, as it may be rendered; which, according to Aben Ezra, were so large and heavy, that they could not be carried, but were obliged to roll them:

and timber is laid in the walls ,
cedar wood, as Aben Ezra interprets it, for beams, for flooring and raftering; or rather, is put upon the walls, for the lining and wainscoting of them, which was done with cedar wood:

and this work goes fast on, and prospereth in their hands ;
and, unless timely prevented, will soon be finished.

---

FOOTNOTES:

• F17: So David de Pomis, Tzemach David, fol. 15. 3.