Nor was it Egypt only which experienced the care of Darius for the national worship of the subject nations. The Samaritans had hindered the restoration of the temple and walls of Jerusalem, which the exiles from Babylonia had taken in hand, by threats and by warnings to the court of Cyrus (p. 99). When Darius ascended the throne, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah called upon their countrymen to finish the restoration of the temple. Haggai reproved the indifference to solemn duties and the selfishness which allowed panelled houses to rise for men, while the house of God was desolate: "therefore the heavens restrained their dew, and the earth her increase." He reminded them of the punishments which had come upon their fathers for neglecting the will of Jehovah: he demanded vigorous action from Zerubbabel and the high priest Joshua; he pronounced the blessing of Jehovah, if the temple were finished and proclaimed to Zerubbabel the son of Salathiel, to whom, eighteen years before (p. 93), Cyrus had entrusted the leadership of the "sons of captivity," that Jehovah would keep him as his seal-ring if the work were finished. To Joshua Zechariah promises royal splendour and long posterity in return for the building of the temple.[340] When the temple is restored, the scattered remnants of Israel would return, and if the walls of Jerusalem were not restored, Jehovah would be a wall of fire to his city. "Many people and mighty nations will come to seek Jehovah at Jerusalem, and make supplication in the presence of the Lord."[341] The exhortations of the prophets had such effect that the building of the temple and the city-walls was taken up again in the second year of Darius (520 B.C.). When the satrap of Syria, who is called Thathnai in the book of Ezra, and his subordinates raised the question--who had given permission for the building--the Jews fell back on the written permission of Cyrus. The satrap referred the matter to the king. According to the narrative of the Jews Darius caused a search to be made for this document in Babylon and Ecbatana, and when it was found in the archives at Ecbatana, he sanctioned the building by a new royal rescript. The work was carried on under repeated exhortations of the two prophets, and after four years and five months it was completed. In the sixth year of Darius (516 B.C.), seventy years after Nebuchadnezzar had pulled it down, the temple was rebuilt. The dedication was made by a sin-offering of twelve goats from the twelve tribes of Israel, and a thank-offering of 100 bulls, 200 rams, and 400 lambs.[342] The walls of the city and the ancient citadel of David by degrees rose once more.[343]