Ezra 4

1 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the LORD, the God of Israel,

The enemies of the people of [the tribes of] Judah and Benjamin heard that the [Israeli] people who had returned from Babylonia were rebuilding a temple for Yahweh, the God whom the Israeli people [worshiped].

2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the families, saying, “Let us build with you because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to Him since the time of King Esar-haddon of Assyria, who brought us here.”

So they went to Zerubbabel [the governor] and the other leaders, and said [deceptively], “We want to help [you build the temple], because we worship that same God whom you worship, and we have been offering sacrifices to him since Esarhaddon, the King of Assyria, brought us here.”

3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other heads of the families of Israel replied, “You have no part with us in building a house for our God, since we alone must build it for the LORD, the God of Israel, as Cyrus king of Persia has commanded us.”

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other [Israeli] leaders replied, “We will not allow you to help us build a temple for our(exc) God. We will build it (ourselves/without your help) for Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis worship, like Cyrus, the King of Persia, told us to do.”

4 Then the people of the land set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to build.

Then the people who had been living in that land [before the Israelis returned] tried to cause the Jews to become discouraged and become afraid, and to cause them to stop building the temple.

5 They hired counselors against them to frustrate their plans throughout the reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.

They bribed government officials to oppose what the Israelis were doing [and prevent them from continuing to work on the temple]. They did that all during the time that Cyrus was King of Persia. They continued to do it when Darius became the King of Persia.

6 At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes, an accusation was lodged against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

During the first year that [Darius’ son] Xerxes was king, the [enemies of the Jews] wrote a note [to the king] saying that the Jews [were planning to rebel against the government].

7 And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. It was written in Aramaic and then translated.

Later, when [Xerxes’ son] Artaxerxes [became the King of Persia], Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and their colleagues/companions wrote a letter to him. They wrote the letter in the Aramaic language, and it was translated [into another language that the king knew].

8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote the letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:

Rehum, the high commissioner, and Shimshai, the provincial secretary, wrote the letter to King Artaxerxes concerning what was happening in Jerusalem.

9 From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates—the judges and officials over Tripolis, Persia, Erech and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,

They stated that the letter was from Rehum the high commissioner/governor and Shimshai the provincial secretary and from their associates, the judges, and other government officials, who were from Erech [city], Babylon [city], and Susa [city] in Elam [district].

10 and the rest of the peoples whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and elsewhere west of the Euphrates.

[They also wrote that they represented] the other people-groups whom [the army of] the great and glorious/famous [King] Ashurbanipal had (deported/forced to move from their homes) and taken to live in Samaria and in other cities in the province west of the Euphrates [River].

11 (This is the text of the letter they sent to him.) To King Artaxerxes, From your servants, the men west of the Euphrates:

This is what they wrote in the letter: “To King Artaxerxes, From the officials who serve you who live in the province west of the Euphrates [River.]

12 Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you to us have returned to Jerusalem. And they are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city, restoring its walls, and repairing its foundations.

“Your majesty, we want you to know that the Jews who came here from your territories are rebuilding this city, [Jerusalem]. These people are wicked and want to rebel against you. Now they are repairing the foundations [of the walls/buildings] and building the walls [of the city].

13 Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, they will not pay tribute, duty, or toll, and the royal treasury will suffer.

“It is important for you to know that if they rebuild the city and finish building the walls, they will stop paying any kind of taxes. As a result, there will be less money in your treasury.

14 Now because we are in the service of the palace and it is not fitting for us to allow the king to be dishonored, we have sent to inform the king

Now, because we are loyal to [IDM] you, and because we do not want you to be humiliated [IDM], we are sending this information to you.

15 that a search should be made of the record books of your fathers. In these books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, inciting sedition from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed.

And, we suggest that you order/tell [your officials] to search the records that your ancestors made/wrote. [If you do that], you will find out that the people in this city have always rebelled [against the government]. You will also find out that from long ago these people have caused trouble for kings and for rulers of provinces. They have always revolted [against those who ruled them]. That is the reason that this city was destroyed [by the Babylonian army].

16 We advise the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, you will have no dominion west of the Euphrates.

We want you to know that if they rebuild this city and finish building its walls, you will no longer be able to control/rule [the people in] this province west of the Euphrates [River].”

17 Then the king sent this reply: To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of your associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in the region west of the Euphrates: Greetings.

[After] the king [read this letter, he] sent this reply to them: “To Rehum, the high commissioner, and Shimshai, the provincial secretary, and their colleagues in Samaria and in other parts of the province that is west of the [Euphrates] River: I (send you my greetings/wish that things will go well for you).

18 The letter you sent us has been translated and read in my presence.

The letter that you sent to me was translated and read to me.

19 I issued a decree, and a search was conducted. It was discovered that this city has revolted against kings from ancient times, engaging in rebellion and sedition.

So then I ordered [my officials] to search the records. I have found out that [it is true that] the people of that city have always revolted against their rulers, and that the city is full of people who have rebelled and caused trouble.

20 And mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region west of the Euphrates; and tribute, duty, and toll were paid to them.

Powerful kings have ruled in Jerusalem, and they have also ruled over the whole province west of the [Euphrates] River. [The people in that province were] paying all kinds of taxes to those kings.

21 Now, therefore, issue an order for these men to stop, so that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order.

So you must command that the people must stop rebuilding the city. Only if I tell them [that they may rebuild it] will they be allowed to continue.

22 See that you do not neglect this matter. Why allow this threat to increase and the royal interests to suffer?

Do this immediately [LIT], because I do not want those people to do anything to harm the things/area about which I am concerned.”

23 When the text of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and forcibly stopped them.

[Messengers took] that letter to Rehum and Shimshai and their colleagues and read it to them. Then Rehum and the others went quickly to Jerusalem, and they forced the Jews to stop [rebuilding the city wall].

24 Thus the construction of the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

The result was that the Jews stopped rebuilding the temple. They did not do any more work to rebuild the temple until Darius became the King of Persia.