And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did..... The rulers of the city of Jerusalem, who seem to be officers of the king of Persia, since they are distinguished from Jewish rulers in the next clause:
neither had I as yet told it to the Jews; what he came about and designed to do:
nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers; the principal men among the Jews, both ecclesiastical and civil:
nor to the rest that did the work; of building and repairing; neither those that were employed in it, nor those that overlooked it.