Ezra 4

1 And they heard [the] opponents of Judah and Benjamin that [the] children of the exile [were] building a temple for Yahweh [the] 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 approached Zerubbabel and [the] heads of the fathers and they said to them let us build with you for like you we seek God your (and to him *Q(K)*) we [have been] sacrificing since [the] days of Esar-haddon [the] king of Assyria who brought up us here.

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 And he said to them Zerubbabel and Jeshua and [the] rest of [the] heads of the fathers of Israel not for you and for us to build a house for God our for we together we will build [it] for Yahweh [the] God of Israel just as he commanded us the king Cyrus [the] king of Persia.

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 And it was [the] people of the land [were] making slack [the] hands of [the] people of Judah (and [were] terrifying *Q(K)*) them to build.

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

5 And [were] hiring on them counselors to frustrate purpose their all [the] days of Cyrus [the] king of Persia and until [the] reign of Darius [the] 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] reign of Ahasuerus at [the] beginning of reign his they wrote an accusation on [the] inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

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

7 And in [the] days of Artaxerxes he wrote Bishlam Mithredath Tabeel and [the] rest of (colleagues his *Q(K)*) to (Artaxerxes *Q(k)*) [the] king of Persia and [the] writing of the letter [was] written Aramaic and [was] translated Aramaic.

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 lord of command and Shimshai scribe the they wrote a letter one concerning Jerusalem to Artaxerxes king the as follows.

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

9 Then Rehum lord of command and Shimshai scribe the and [the] rest of associates their Dinay the and officials the Tarpelites the Sipparites the (Erechites the *Q(K)*) Babylonians the Susanchites the (Dehavites the *Q(K)*) Elamites the.

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 nations the which he took into exile Osnappar great and honorable and he caused to dwell them in [the] city of Samaria and [the] rest of [the] region beyond river the and now.

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] copy of letter the which they sent to him to Artaxerxes king the (servant your *Q(K)*) [the] man of [the] region beyond river the and now.

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

12 Known let it be to king the that Jews the who they came up from beside you to us they have come to Jerusalem city the rebellious (and evil *Q(k)*) [they are] building (and walls the they have finished *Q(K)*) and foundations the they are repairing.

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 Now known let it be to king the that if city the this it will be built and walls the they will be finished tribute tax and toll not they will give and certainly kings it will injure.

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 Now as to because that [the] salt of palace the we eat salt and [the] dishonor of king the not ([is] proper *LB(ah)*) for us to see concerning this we have sent and we have made known to king the.

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 he will search in [the] book of records the of fathers your so you may find in [the] book of records the so you may know that city the this [is] a city rebellious and injuring kings and provinces and a revolt [it was] making in midst its from [the] days of antiquity on this city the this it was laid waste.

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 [are] making known We to king the that if city the this it will be built and walls the they will be finished before this possession in [the] region beyond river the not there [will be] to you.

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 Word the he sent king the to Rehum lord of command and Shimshai scribe the and [the] rest of associates their who [were] dwelling in Samaria and [the] rest of [the] region beyond river the peace and now.

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 Letter the which you sent to us made distinct it was read aloud before me.

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

19 And from me it was made a decree and they searched and they found that city the this from [the] days of antiquity against kings [was] rising up and rebellion and revolt [have] been done by it.

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 And kings strong they were over Jerusalem and having mastery over all [the] region beyond river the and tribute tax and toll [was] being paid to 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 Now make a decree to make to cease men the these and city the this not it will be built until from me decree the it will be made.

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

22 And cautious be negligence to do concerning this why? will it grow great damage the to injury kings.

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

23 Then from that [the] copy of letter the of (Artaxerxes *Q(k)*) king the it was read aloud before Rehum and Shimshai scribe the and associates their they went in haste to Jerusalem to Jews the and they made to cease them with 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 it ceased [the] work of [the] house of God which [is] in Jerusalem and it was ceasing until year two of [the] reign of Darius [the] 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.