Ezra 4

1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the exile were building the temple unto the Lord the God of Israel:

Now some enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people who had been exiled were now building a temple for Yahweh, the God of Israel.

2 Then came they near to Zerubbabel, and to the chiefs of the divisions, and said unto them, Let us build with you; for like you will we seek your God; and unto him do we sacrifice since the days of Essar-chaddon the king of Asshur, who hath brought us up hither.

So they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of their ancestors' clans. They said to them, “Let us build with you, for, like you, we seek your God and have sacrificed to him since the days when Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, brought us to this place.”

3 But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua', and the rest of the of the divisions of Israel, said unto them, It is not obligatory on you and on us to build a house unto our God; but we ourselves together must build unto the Lord the God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the heads of their ancestors' clans said, “It is not you, but we who must build the house of our God, for it is we who will build for Yahweh, the God of Israel, just as King Cyrus of Persia commanded.”

4 Then did the people of the land weaken the hands of the people of Judah, and frightened them off from building;

So the people of the land made the Judeans' hands weak; they made the Judeans afraid to build.

5 And they hired against them counsellors, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus the king of Persia, and even until the reign of Darius the king of Persia.

They also bribed counselors to frustrate their plans. They did this during all of Cyrus' days and into the reign of Darius king of Persia.

6 And in the reign of Achashverosh, in the beginning of his reign they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

Then at the beginning of Ahasuerus' reign they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

7 And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes the king of Persia: and the writing of the letter was written in Aramic, and interpreted in Aramic.

It was during the days of Artaxerxes that Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their companions wrote to Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.

8 Rechum the counsellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a certain letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king, as followeth:

Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote this way to Artaxerxes about Jerusalem.

9 Then [wrote] Rechum the counsellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions, from Din, and Apharsathach, Tarpel, Apharass, Erech, Babylon, Shushan, Dehav, and 'Elam,

Then Rehum, Shimshai, and their companions, who were judges and other officers in the government, the Persians, men from Erech and Babylon, and the men from Susa (that is, the Elamites)—they wrote a letter—

10 And the rest of the nations whom the great and honored Assnapper had brought into exile, and settled in the cities of Samaria, and the rest that are on this side the river, and so forth.

and they were joined by the people whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal forced to settle in Samaria, along with the rest who were in the Province Beyond the River.

11 This is the copy of the letter which they sent unto him, even unto king Artaxerxes: Thy servants the men on this side the river, and so forth.

This is a copy of the letter that they sent to Artaxerxes: “Your servants, men of the Province Beyond the River, write this:

12 Be it made known unto the king, that the Jews who removed away from thee are come up to us unto Jerusalem: they are building the rebellious and the bad city, and are completing the walls, and are joining together the foundations.

Let the king know that the Jews who went from you have come against us in Jerusalem to build a rebellious city. They have completed the walls and repaired the foundations.

13 Be it now known unto the king, that, if this city be rebuilt, and the walls be completed, they will not give tax, tribute, and toll, and the royal revenues will suffer damage.

Now let the king know that if this city is built and the wall is completed, they will not give any tribute and taxes, but they will harm the kings.

14 Now because we eat the salt of the palace, and it is not proper for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore have we sent and let the king know this:

Surely because we have eaten the palace salt, it is not fitting for us to see any dishonor happen to the king. It is because of this that we are informing the king

15 That search may be made in the book of the memorable events of thy fathers, and thou wilt find in the book of the memorable events, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have practised sedition within the same from the most ancient time; for which cause this city was destroyed.

to search your father's record and to verify that this is a rebellious city that will harm kings and provinces. It has caused many problems to the kings and provinces. It has been a center for rebellion from long ago. It was for this reason that the city was destroyed.

16 We let the king know that, if this city be rebuilt, and its walls be completed, by this means thou wilt have no more any portion on this side of the river.

We are informing the king that if this city and wall are built, then there will be nothing remaining for you in the Province Beyond the River.”

17 Then sent the king a reply unto Rechum the counsellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and unto the rest of those beyond the river, Peace, and so forth.

So the king sent out a reply to Rehum and Shimshai and their companions in Samaria and the rest who were in the Province Beyond the River: “May peace be yours.

18 The letter which ye have sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.

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

19 And an order was given by me, and search was made, and it was found that this city from the most ancient time hath lifted itself up against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been practised therein.

So I ordered an investigation and discovered that in previous days they had rebelled and revolted against kings.

20 And that mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, who ruled over all the countries beyond the river; and that tax, tribute, and toll was given unto them.

Mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem and had power over everything in the Province Beyond the River. Tribute and taxes were paid to them.

21 Now give ye the order to stop these men, and this city shall not be built, until the order be given from me.

Now, make a decree for these men to stop and not build this city until I make a decree.

22 Take heed now that ye commit no error in this: that not any injury may grow [out of this] to the damage of the kings.

Be careful not to neglect this. Why allow this threat to grow and cause more loss for the royal interests?

23 Thereupon so soon as the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rechum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they did go up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and stopped them by force and power.

When King Artaxerxes' decree was read before Rehum, Shimshai, and their companions, they went out quickly to Jerusalem and forced the Jews to stop building.

24 Then was stopped the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem, and it remained interrupted until the second year of the reign of Darius the king of Persia.

So the work on the house of God in Jerusalem stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.