Ezra 4

1 The enemies of the people of [the tribes of] Judah and Benjamin heard that the [Israeli] people who had returned from Babylonia were rebuilding a temple for Yahweh, the God whom the Israeli people [worshiped].

Now news came to the haters of Judah and Benjamin that the people who had come back were building a Temple to the Lord, the God of Israel;

2 So they went to Zerubbabel [the governor] and the other leaders, and said [deceptively], “We want to help [you build the temple], because we worship that same God whom you worship, and we have been offering sacrifices to him since Esarhaddon, the King of Assyria, brought us here.”

Then they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of families, and said to them, Let us take part in the building with you; for we are servants of your God, even as you are; and we have been making offerings to him from the days of Esar-haddon, king of Assyria, who put us here.

3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other [Israeli] leaders replied, “We will not allow you to help us build a temple for our(exc) God. We will build it (ourselves/without your help) for Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis worship, like Cyrus, the King of Persia, told us to do.”

But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of families in Israel said to them, You have no part with us in the building of a house for our God; we ourselves will do the work together for the Lord, the God of Israel, as Cyrus, king of Persia, has given us orders.

4 Then the people who had been living in that land [before the Israelis returned] tried to cause the Jews to become discouraged and become afraid, and to cause them to stop building the temple.

Then the people of the land made the hands of the people of Judah feeble, troubling them with fear in their building;

5 They bribed government officials to oppose what the Israelis were doing [and prevent them from continuing to work on the temple]. They did that all during the time that Cyrus was King of Persia. They continued to do it when Darius became the King of Persia.

And they gave payment to men who made designs against them and kept them from effecting their purpose, all through the time of Cyrus, king of Persia, till Darius became king.

6 During the first year that [Darius’ son] Xerxes was king, the [enemies of the Jews] wrote a note [to the king] saying that the Jews [were planning to rebel against the government].

And in the time of Ahasuerus, when he first became king, they put on record a statement against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

7 Later, when [Xerxes’ son] Artaxerxes [became the King of Persia], Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and their colleagues/companions wrote a letter to him. They wrote the letter in the Aramaic language, and it was translated [into another language that the king knew].

And in the time of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his friends, sent a letter to Artaxerxes, king of Persia, writing it in the Aramaean writing and language.

8 Rehum, the high commissioner, and Shimshai, the provincial secretary, wrote the letter to King Artaxerxes concerning what was happening in Jerusalem.

Rehum, the chief ruler, and Shimshai the scribe, sent a letter against Jerusalem, to Artaxerxes the king;

9 They stated that the letter was from Rehum the high commissioner/governor and Shimshai the provincial secretary and from their associates, the judges, and other government officials, who were from Erech [city], Babylon [city], and Susa [city] in Elam [district].

The letter was sent by Rehum, the chief ruler, and Shimshai the scribe and their friends; the Dinaites and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites, the Elamites,

10 [They also wrote that they represented] the other people-groups whom [the army of] the great and glorious/famous [King] Ashurbanipal had (deported/forced to move from their homes) and taken to live in Samaria and in other cities in the province west of the Euphrates [River].

And the rest of the nations which the great and noble Osnappar took over and put in Samaria and the rest of the country over the river:

11 This is what they wrote in the letter: “To King Artaxerxes, From the officials who serve you who live in the province west of the Euphrates [River.]

This is a copy of the letter which they sent to Artaxerxes the king: Your servants living across the river send these words:

12 “Your majesty, we want you to know that the Jews who came here from your territories are rebuilding this city, [Jerusalem]. These people are wicked and want to rebel against you. Now they are repairing the foundations [of the walls/buildings] and building the walls [of the city].

We give news to the king that the Jews who came from you have come to us at Jerusalem; they are building up again that uncontrolled and evil town; the walls are complete and they are joining up the bases.

13 “It is important for you to know that if they rebuild the city and finish building the walls, they will stop paying any kind of taxes. As a result, there will be less money in your treasury.

The king may be certain that when the building of this town and its walls is complete, they will give no tax or payment in goods or forced payments, and in the end it will be a cause of loss to the kings.

14 Now, because we are loyal to [IDM] you, and because we do not want you to be humiliated [IDM], we are sending this information to you.

Now because we are responsible to the king, and it is not right for us to see the king's honour damaged, we have sent to give the king word of these things,

15 And, we suggest that you order/tell [your officials] to search the records that your ancestors made/wrote. [If you do that], you will find out that the people in this city have always rebelled [against the government]. You will also find out that from long ago these people have caused trouble for kings and for rulers of provinces. They have always revolted [against those who ruled them]. That is the reason that this city was destroyed [by the Babylonian army].

So that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers: and you will see in the book of the records that this town has been uncontrolled, and a cause of trouble to kings and countries, and that there were outbursts against authority there in the past: for which reason the town was made waste.

16 We want you to know that if they rebuild this city and finish building its walls, you will no longer be able to control/rule [the people in] this province west of the Euphrates [River].”

We give you word, that if the building of this town and its walls is made complete, there will be an end of your power in the country across the river.

17 [After] the king [read this letter, he] sent this reply to them: “To Rehum, the high commissioner, and Shimshai, the provincial secretary, and their colleagues in Samaria and in other parts of the province that is west of the [Euphrates] River: I (send you my greetings/wish that things will go well for you).

Then the king sent an answer to Rehum, the chief ruler, and Shimshai the scribe, and their friends living in Samaria, and to the rest of those across the river, saying, Peace to you:

18 The letter that you sent to me was translated and read to me.

And now the sense of the letter which you sent to us has been made clear to me,

19 So then I ordered [my officials] to search the records. I have found out that [it is true that] the people of that city have always revolted against their rulers, and that the city is full of people who have rebelled and caused trouble.

And I gave orders for a search to be made, and it is certain that in the past this town has made trouble for kings, and that outbursts against authority have taken place there.

20 Powerful kings have ruled in Jerusalem, and they have also ruled over the whole province west of the [Euphrates] River. [The people in that province were] paying all kinds of taxes to those kings.

Further, there have been great kings in Jerusalem, ruling over all the country across the river, to whom they gave taxes and payments in goods and forced payments.

21 So you must command that the people must stop rebuilding the city. Only if I tell them [that they may rebuild it] will they be allowed to continue.

Give an order now, that these men are to do nothing more, and that the building of the town is to be stopped, till I give an order.

22 Do this immediately [LIT], because I do not want those people to do anything to harm the things/area about which I am concerned.”

Be certain to do this with all care: do not let trouble be increased to the king's damage.

23 [Messengers took] that letter to Rehum and Shimshai and their colleagues and read it to them. Then Rehum and the others went quickly to Jerusalem, and they forced the Jews to stop [rebuilding the city wall].

Then, after reading the king's letter, Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their friends went quickly to Jerusalem, to the Jews, and had them stopped by force.

24 The result was that the Jews stopped rebuilding the temple. They did not do any more work to rebuild the temple until Darius became the King of Persia.

So the work of the house of God at Jerusalem came to an end; so it was stopped, till the second year of the rule of Darius, king of Persia.