Ezra 4

1 And adversaries of Judah and Benjamin hear that the sons of the captivity are building a temple to YHWH, 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 and they draw near to Zerubbabel, and to heads of the fathers, and say to them, “Let us build with you; for, like you, we seek to your God, and we are not sacrificing since the days of Esar-Haddon king of Asshur, who brought us up 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 And Zerubbabel says to them, also Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of the fathers of Israel, “Not for you, and for us, to build a house to our God; but we ourselves together build to YHWH God of Israel, as King Cyrus, king of Persia, commanded us.”

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 And it comes to pass, the people of the land are making the hands of the people of Judah feeble, and troubling them in building,

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

5 and are hiring against them counselors to make void their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even 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 And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the commencement of his reign, they have written an accusation against the inhabitants 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 and in the days of Artaxerxes have Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions written to Artaxerxes king of Persia, and the writing of the letter is written in Aramaic, and interpreted in 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 counselor, and Shimshai scribe have written a letter concerning Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king, thus:

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

9 Then Rehum counselor, and Shimshai scribe, and the rest of their companions, Dinaites, and Apharsathchites, Tarpelites, Apharsites, Archevites, Babylonians, Susanchites (who are Elamites),

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 nations that the great and honorable Asnapper removed and set in the city of Samaria, and the rest beyond the river, and at such a time:

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 This [is] a copy of a letter that they have sent to him, to Artaxerxes the king: “Your servants, men beyond the river, and at such a time;

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

12 be it known to the king, that the Jews who have come up from you to us, have come to Jerusalem, the rebellious and base city they are building, and the walls they have finished, and the foundations they join.

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 Now let it be known to the king, that if this city is built and the walls finished, that they do not give toll, tribute, and custom; and at length it causes loss [to] the kings.

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 that the salt of the palace [is] our salt, and we have no patience to see the nakedness of the king, therefore we have sent and made known to the king;

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 so that he seeks in the scroll of the records of your fathers, and you find in the scroll of the records, and know, that this city [is] a rebellious city, and causing loss [to] kings and provinces, and makers of sedition [are] in its midst from the days of old, therefore this city has been ruined.

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 are making known to the king that, if this city be built and the walls finished, by this means you have no portion beyond the river.”

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 has sent an answer to Rehum counselor, and Shimshai scribe, and the rest of their companions who are dwelling in Samaria, and the rest beyond the river, “Peace, and at such a time:

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 that you sent to us, explained, has been read before me,

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

19 and by me a decree has been made, and they sought, and have found that this city is lifting up itself against kings from the days of old, and rebellion and sedition is made in it,

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 and mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, even rulers over all beyond the river, and toll, tribute, and custom is given to them.

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 Now make a decree to cause these men to cease, and this city is not built, until a decree is made by me.

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

22 And beware of negligence in doing this; why does the hurt become great to the loss of the kings?”

[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 Then from the time that a copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes is read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they have gone in haste to Jerusalem, to the Jews, and caused them to cease by force and strength;

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 then ceased the service of the house of God that [is] in Jerusalem, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king 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.