The letter from Tattenai to the king continues. Tattenai continues to tell the king what the Judeans had told him beginning in [Esra 5:11](../05/11.md).
The hand is a metonym for power or control. Also, "Nebuchadnezzar" represents his army. Alternate translation: "allowed the army of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the Chaldean, to destroy this house and to take the people" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])