Ezra 4

1 Bvt the aduersaries of Iudah and Beniamin heard, that the children of the captiuitie builded the Temple vnto the Lord God of Israel.

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

2 And they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chiefe fathers, and sayd vnto them, We wil builde with you: for we seeke the Lord your God as ye do, and we haue sacrificed vnto him since the time of Esar Haddon king of Asshur, which brought vs vp hither.

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.”

3 Then Zerubbabel, and Ieshua, and the rest of the chiefe fathers of Israel, sayde vnto them, It is not for you, but for vs to buyld the house vnto our God: for we our selues together wil buylde it vnto the Lord God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded vs.

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.”

4 Wherefore the people of the land discouraged the people of Iudah, and troubled them in buylding,

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

5 And they hired counsellers against them, to hinder their deuise, all the dayes of Cyrus King of Persia, euen vntill the reigne of Darius King of Persia.

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.

6 And in the reigne of Ahashuerosh (in the beginning of his reigne) wrote they an accusation against the inhabitants of Iudah and Ierusalem.

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

7 And in the daies of Artahshashte, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions wrote when it was peace, vnto Artahshashte king of Persia, and the writing of the letter was the Aramites writing, and the thing declared was in the language of the Aramites.

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.

8 Rehum the chancelour, and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Ierusalem to Artahshashte the King, in this sort.

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

9 Then wrote Rehum the chauncelour, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions Dinaie, and Apharsathcaie, Tarpelaie, Apharsaie, Archeuaie, Bablaie, Shushanchaie, Dehaue, Elmaie,

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,

10 And the rest of the people whom the great and noble Asnappar brought ouer, and set in the cities of Samaria, and other that are beyonde the Riuer and Cheeneth.

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.

11 This is the copie of the letter that they sent vnto King Artahshashte, THY SERVANTS the men beyond the Riuer and Cheeneth, salute thee.

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

12 Be it knowen vnto the King that ye Iewes, which came vp from thee to vs, are come vnto Ierusalem (a citie rebellious and wicked) and buylde, and lay the foundations of the walles, and haue ioyned the foundations.

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.

13 Be it knowen nowe vnto the King, that if this citie be built, and the foundations of the walles layed, they will not giue tolle, tribute, nor custome: so shalt thou hinder the Kings tribute.

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.

14 Nowe therefore because wee haue bene brought vp in the Kings palace, it was not meete for vs to see the Kings dishonour: for this cause haue we sent and certified the King,

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

15 That one may searche in the booke of the Chronicles of thy fathers, and thou shalt finde in the booke of the Chronicles, and perceiue that this citie is rebellious and noysome vnto Kings and prouinces, and that they haue moued sedition of olde time, for the which cause this citie was destroyed.

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.

16 Wee certifie the King therefore, that if this citie be buylded, and the foundation of the walles layd, by this meanes the portion beyonde the Riuer shall not be thine.

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

17 The King sent an answere vnto Rehum the Chauncelour, and Shimshai the Scribe, and so the rest of their companions that dwelt in Samaria, and vnto the other beyond the Riuer, Shelam and Cheeth.

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.

18 The letter which yee sent vnto vs, hath bene openly read before me,

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

19 And I haue commanded and they haue searched, and founde, that this citie of olde time hath made insurrection against kings, and hath rebelled, and rebellion hath bene committed therein.

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.

20 There haue bene mightie kings also ouer Ierusalem, which haue ruled ouer all beyonde the Riuer, and tolle, tribute, and custome was giuen vnto them.

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.

21 Make ye now a decree, that those men may cease, and that the citie be not buylt, till I haue giuen another commandement.

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

22 Take heede nowe that ye fayle not to doe this: why should domage grow to hurt the King?

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

23 When the copie of king Artahshashtes letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went vp in all the haste to Ierusalem vnto the Iewes, and caused them to cease by force and power.

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.

24 Then ceased the worke of the house of God, which was in Ierusalem, and did stay vnto the second yeere of Darius King of Persia.

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.