Ezra 4

1 And adversaries of Judah and Benjamin hear that the sons of the captivity are building a temple to Jehovah, God of Israel,

The enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a Temple to the Lord, the God of Israel.

2 and they draw nigh unto Zerubbabel, and unto 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 hither.'

They came to Zerubbabel and the family leaders and said, “Please let us help you with the building work, for we worship your God like you do. In fact we have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”

3 And Zerubbabel saith 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 do build to Jehovah God of Israel, as the king Cyrus, king of Persia, commanded us.'

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the family leaders of Israel replied, “You can't share with us in building a Temple for our God. Only we can build it for the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what Cyrus the king of Persia has ordered us to do.”

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

Then the local people set out to intimidate the people of Judah and make them too scared to go on building.

5 and are hiring against them counsellors to make void their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even till the reign of Darius king of Persia.

They bribed officials to oppose them and to obstruct their plans. This continued during the whole reign of Cyrus king of Persia up until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

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;

When Ahasuerus became king the local people sent him a written accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

7 and in the days of Artaxerxes have Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions written unto Artaxerxes king of Persia, and the writing of the letter is written in Aramaean, and interpreted in Aramaean.

During the time of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their fellow officers wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated from Aramaic.

8 Rehum counsellor, and Shimshai scribe have written a letter concerning Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king, thus:

Rehum the officer in command and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes condemning Jerusalem stating,

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

This comes from Rehum the officer in command, Shimshai the scribe, and fellow officers: the judges and officials and those in charge of Persia, Erech and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,

10 and the rest of the nations that the great and honourable 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 people whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal deported and resettled in the towns of Samaria and other places west of the Euphrates.

11 This [is] a copy of a letter that they have sent unto him, unto Artaxerxes the king: 'Thy servants, men beyond the river, and at such a time;

The following is a copy of the letter they sent to him. To King Artaxerxes, from your servants, men beyond the River Euphrates:

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

Your Majesty should be informed that the Jews who came from you to us have returned to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city, completing repairs to the walls, and mending its foundations.

13 'Now, be it known to the king, that if this city be builded, and the walls finished, toll, tribute, and custom they do not give; and at length [to] the kings it doth cause loss.

Your Majesty should realize that if this city is rebuilt and its walls repaired, they will not pay tax, tribute, or fees, and the king's revenue will suffer.

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

Now because we are in the king's service and it is not right for us to see Your Majesty disrespected, we are sending this letter so that you can be informed,

15 so that he doth seek in the book of the records of thy fathers, and thou dost find in the book of the records, and dost 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 hath this city been wasted.

and order a search of the royal archives. You will discover in these records that this is a rebellious city, damaging to kings and countries, having often risen up in revolt in the past. That is what led to this city being destroyed.

16 We are making known to the king that, if this city be builded and the walls finished, by this means a portion beyond the river thou hast none.'

We wish to inform Your Majesty that if this city is rebuilt and the walls completed, you will lose this province west of the Euphrates.

17 An answer hath the king sent unto Rehum counsellor, 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:

The king replied as follows: “To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and fellow officers living in Samaria and in other areas west of the Euphrates: Greetings.

18 The letter that ye sent unto us, explained, hath been read before me,

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

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

I ordered a search to be conducted. It was discovered that this city has often risen up in revolt against kings in the past, frequently promoting insurrection and rebellion.

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

Powerful kings have ruled over Jerusalem and throughout the whole area west of the Euphrates, and they received tax, tribute, and fees.

21 'Now, make ye a decree to cause these men to cease, and this city is not builded, till by me a decree is made.

Issue an immediate order for these men to stop work. This city is not to be rebuilt until I authorize it.

22 And beware ye of negligence in doing this; why doth the hurt become great to the loss of the kings?'

See that you do not neglect this matter. Why should this problem be allowed to grow and damage royal interests?”

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, unto the Jews, and caused them to cease by force and strength;

As soon as this letter from King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their fellow officers, they rushed to the Jews in Jerusalem and used their power to forcibly make them stop work.

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

Consequently work on God's Temple in Jerusalem came to a halt. The stoppage continued until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.