Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands.
The house of the great God ... builded with great stones х 'eben (H69) gªlaal (H1560)] - 'stones of rolling;' i:e., stones of such extraordinary size that they could not be carried-they had to be rolled or dragged along the ground. [The Septuagint has: lithois eklektois, choice stones.] When mention is made of "the great God," the application of such an epithet implies a recognition at least to some extent of his true character; and that although the motley mass of colonists (Ezra 4:9), although still adhering to their native idols, were constrained to acknowledge the supremacy of the God whom the Jews worshipped, while, from motives of jealous rivalry, they endeavoured to prevent the rebuilding of His temple.