Ezra 4

1 The enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a Temple to the Lord, the God of Israel.

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 They came to Zerubbabel and the family leaders and said, “Please let us help you with the building work, for we worship your God like you do. In fact we have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”

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 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the family leaders of Israel replied, “You can't share with us in building a Temple for our God. Only we can build it for the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what Cyrus the king of Persia has ordered us to do.”

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 Then the local people set out to intimidate the people of Judah and make them too scared to go on building.

And the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Juda, and hindered them in building,

5 They bribed officials to oppose them and to obstruct their plans. This continued during the whole reign of Cyrus king of Persia up until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

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 When Ahasuerus became king the local people sent him a written accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

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 During the time of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their fellow officers wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated from Aramaic.

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 Rehum the officer in command and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes condemning Jerusalem stating,

Reum the chancellor, and Sampsa the scribe wrote an epistle against Jerusalem to King Arthasastha, [saying, ]

9 This comes from Rehum the officer in command, Shimshai the scribe, and fellow officers: the judges and officials and those in charge of Persia, Erech and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,

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 and the rest of the people whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal deported and resettled in the towns of Samaria and other places west of the Euphrates.

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 The following is a copy of the letter they sent to him. To King Artaxerxes, from your servants, men beyond the River Euphrates:

This [is] the purport of the letter, which they sent to him: Your servants the men beyond the river to king Arthasastha.

12 Your Majesty should be informed that the Jews who came from you to us have returned to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city, completing repairs to the walls, and mending its foundations.

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 Your Majesty should realize that if this city is rebuilt and its walls repaired, they will not pay tax, tribute, or fees, and the king's revenue will suffer.

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 Now because we are in the king's service and it is not right for us to see Your Majesty disrespected, we are sending this letter so that you can be informed,

And it is not lawful for us to see the dishonour of the king: therefore have we sent and made known [the matter] to the king;

15 and order a search of the royal archives. You will discover in these records that this is a rebellious city, damaging to kings and countries, having often risen up in revolt in the past. That is what led to this city being destroyed.

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 We wish to inform Your Majesty that if this city is rebuilt and the walls completed, you will lose this province west of the Euphrates.

We therefore declare to the king, that, if that city be built, and its walls be set up, you shall not have peace.

17 The king replied as follows: “To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and fellow officers living in Samaria and in other areas west of the Euphrates: Greetings.

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 The letter you sent to us has been translated and read to me.

The tribute-gatherer whom you sent to us, has been called before me.

19 I ordered a search to be conducted. It was discovered that this city has often risen up in revolt against kings in the past, frequently promoting insurrection and rebellion.

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 Powerful kings have ruled over Jerusalem and throughout the whole area west of the Euphrates, and they received tax, tribute, and fees.

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 Issue an immediate order for these men to stop work. This city is not to be rebuilt until I authorize it.

Now therefore make a decree to stop the work of those men, and that city shall no more be built.

22 See that you do not neglect this matter. Why should this problem be allowed to grow and damage royal interests?”

[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 As soon as this letter from King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their fellow officers, they rushed to the Jews in Jerusalem and used their power to forcibly make them stop work.

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 Consequently work on God's Temple in Jerusalem came to a halt. The stoppage continued until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.

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.