Ezra 4
1 Men da Judas og Benjamins Fjender hørte, at de, der havde været i Landflygtighed, byggede HERREN, Israels Gud, en Helligdom,
And they that afflicted Juda and Benjamin heard, that the children of the captivity were building a house to the Lord God of Israel.
2 henvendte de sig til Zerubbabel, Jesua og Overhovederne for Fædrenehusene og sagde til dem: Lad os være med til at bygge, thi vi søger eders Gud saavel som I, og ham har vi ofret til, siden Assyrerkongen Asarhaddon førte os herhen!
And they drew near to Zorobabel, and to the heads of families, and said to them, We will build with you; for as you [do], we seek [to serve] our God, and we do sacrifice to him from the days of Asaradan king of Assur, who brought us hither.
3 Men Zerubbabel, Jesua og de andre Overhoveder for Israels Fædrenehuse svarede: »I skal ikke være fælles med os om at bygge vor Gud et Hus, men vi vil være ene om at bygge for HERREN, Israels Gud, saaledes som Kong Kyros, Perserkongen, paalagde os!«
then Zorobabel, and Jesus and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel said to them, [It is] not for us and you to build a house to our God, for we ourselves will build together to the Lord our God, as Cyrus the king of the Persians commanded us.
4 Saa bragte Hedningerne i Landet Judas Folks Hænder til at synke og skræmmede dem fra at bygge;
And the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Juda, and hindered them in building,
5 og de købte Folk til med deres Raad at modarbejde dem og bringe deres Planer til at strande; saaledes gik det, saa længe Perserkongen Kyros levede, lige til Perserkongen Darius's Regering.
and [continued] hiring [persons] against them, plotting to frustrate their counsel, all the days of Cyrus king of the Persians, and until the reign of Darius king of the Persians.
6 Under Ahasverus's Regering, i hans første Regeringstid, skrev de en Klage over Judas og Jerusalems Indbyggere.
And in the reign of Assuerus, even in the beginning of his reign, they wrote a letter against the inhabitants of Juda and Jerusalem.
7 I Artaxerxes's Dage affattede Bisjlam, Mitredat, Tabe'el og alle hans andre Embedsbrødre en Skrivelse til Perserkongen Artaxerxes. Skrivelsen var affattet paa Aramaisk og oversat.
And in the days of Arthasastha, Tabeel wrote peaceably to Mithradates and to the rest of his fellow-servants: the tribute-gatherer wrote to Arthasastha king of the Persians a writing in the Syrian tongue, and [the same] interpreted.
8 Statholderen Rehum og Skriveren Sjimsjaj skrev et Brev mod Jerusalem til Kong Artaxerxes af følgende Indhold.
Reum the chancellor, and Sampsa the scribe wrote an epistle against Jerusalem to King Arthasastha, [saying, ]
9 De, der dengang skrev, var Statholderen Rehum og Skriveren Sjimsjaj og alle deres andre Embedsbrødre, Diniterne, Afarsatkiterne, Tarpeliterne, Afaresiterne, Arkiterne, Babylonerne,
Thus has judged Reum the chancellor, and Sampsa the scribe, and the rest of our fellow-servants, the Dinaeans, the Apharsathachaeans, the Tarphalaeans, the Apharsaeans, the Archyaeans, the Babylonians, the Susanachaeans, Davaeans,
10 Susaniterne, Dehaviterne, Elamiterne og de andre Folk, som den store og navnkundige Asenappar havde ført bort og ladet bosætte sig i Samarias Byer og andetsteds hinsides Floden, og saa videre.
and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Assenaphar removed, and settled them in the cities of Somoron, and the rest [of them] beyond the river.
11 Dette er en Afskrift af Brevet, de sendte ham: »Til Kong Artaxerxes. Dine Trælle, Folkene hinsides Floden, og saa videre:
This [is] the purport of the letter, which they sent to him: Your servants the men beyond the river to king Arthasastha.
12 Det være Kongen kundgjort, at Jøderne, som drog op til os fra dig, er kommet til Jerusalem; de er i Færd med at genopbygge denne oprørske og onde By; de genopfører Murene og udbedrer Grunden.
Be it known to the king, that the Jews who came up from you to us have come to Jerusalem the rebellious and wicked city, which they are building, and its walls are set in order, and they have established the foundations of it.
13 Men nu være det Kongen kundgjort, at hvis denne By bygges op og Murene genopføres, saa vil de ikke svare Skat, Afgift eller Skyld, og der bliver Skaar i Kongens Indtægter.
Now then be it known to the king, that if that city be built up, and its walls completed, you shall have no tribute, neither will they pay [anything], and this injures kings.
14 Da vi nu spiser Paladsets Salt, og det ikke sømmer sig for os at se paa, at Kongen lider Skade, sender vi herved Bud og lader Kongen det vide,
And it is not lawful for us to see the dishonor of the king: therefore have we sent and made known [the matter] to the king;
15 for at der kan blive set efter i dine Fædres Krønikebog; i den vil du finde og se, at denne By er en oprørsk By, der har voldt Konger og Lande Skade, og at der fra gammel Tid har fundet Opstande Sted i den. Det er Grunden til, at denne By blev ødelagt.
That examination may be made in your fathers' book of record; and you shall find, and you shall know that city [is] rebellious, and does harm to kings and countries, and there are in the midst of it from very old time refuges for [runaway] slaves: therefore this city has been made desolate.
16 Saa lader vi da Kongen vide, at hvis denne By bygges op og Murerne genopføres, har du ikke mere nogen Besiddelse hinsides Floden!«
We therefore declare to the king, that, if that city be built, and its walls be set up, you shall not have peace.
17 Kongen sendte da følgende Svar til Statholderen Rehum, Skriveren Sjimsjaj og alle deres andre Embedsbrødre, som boede i Samaria og de andre Lande hinsides Floden: »Hilsen, og saa videre.
Then the king sent to Reum the chancellor, and Sampsa the scribe, and the rest of their fellow-servants who lived in Samaria, and the rest beyond the river, [saying, ]Peace; and he says,
18 Den Skrivelse, I har sendt mig, er forelæst mig grundigt.
The tribute-gatherer whom you sent to us, has been called before me.
19 Og paa mit Bud har man set efter og fundet, at denne By fra gammel Tid har sat sig op mod Konger, og at der har fundet Oprør og Opstande Sted i den;
And a decree has been made by me, and we have examined, and found that city of old time exalts itself against kings, and that rebellions and desertions take place within it.
20 over Jerusalem har der hersket mægtige Konger, som udstrakte deres Magt over alt hinsides Floden, og til hvem der svaredes Skat, Afgift og Skyld.
And there were powerful kings in Jerusalem, and they ruled over all the [country] beyond the river, and abundant revenues and tribute were given to them.
21 Giv derfor Ordre til at standse disse Mænd og til, at denne By ikke maa genopbygges, før der kommer Befaling fra mig;
Now therefore make a decree to stop the work of those men, and that city shall no more be built.
22 og tag eder vel i Vare for at vise Forsømmelighed i denne Sag, at ikke der skal lides store Tab til Skade for Kongerne!«
[See] that you be careful of the decree, [not] to be remiss concerning this matter, lest at any time destruction should abound to the harm of kings.
23 Saa snart Afskriften af denne Skrivelse fra Kong Artaxerxes var blevet læst for Rehum, Skriveren Sjimsjaj og deres Embedsbrødre, begav de sig uopholdelig til Jøderne i Jerusalem og tvang dem med Magt til at standse Arbejdet.
Then the tribute-gatherer of king Arthasastha read [the letter] before Reum the chancellor, and Sampsa the scribe, and his fellow-servants: and they went in haste to Jerusalem and through Juda, and caused them to cease with horses and an [armed] force.
24 Saa standsede Arbejdet paa Guds Hus i Jerusalem, og det hvilede til Perserkongen Darius's andet Regeringsaar.
Then ceased the work of the house of God in Jerusalem, and it was at a stand until the second year of the reign of Darius king of the Persians.
