エズラ記 4
1 茲にユダとベニヤミンの敵たる者等夫俘囚より歸り來りし人々イスラエルの神ヱホバのために殿を建ると聞き
Now the enemies of Judah and of Benjamin heard that the sons of the captivity were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel.
2 乃ちゼルバベルと宗家の長等の許に至りて之に言けるは我儕をして汝等と共に之を建しめよ 我らは汝らと同じく汝らの神を求む アッスリヤの王エサルハドンが我儕を此に携へのぼりし日より以來我らはこれに犠牲を獻ぐるなりと
And so, drawing near to Zerubbabel and to the leaders of the fathers, they said to them: “Let us build with you, for we seek your God just as you do. Behold, we have immolated victims to him from the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, who brought us here.”
3 然るにゼルバベル、ヱシユアおよびその餘のイスラエルの宗家の長等これに言ふ 汝らは我らの神に室を建ることに與るべからず 我儕獨りみづからイスラエルの神ヱホバのために建ることを爲べし 是ペルシヤの王クロス王の我らに命ぜし所なりと
And Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of the fathers of Israel said to them: “It is not for you to build the house of our God with us. Instead, we alone shall build to the Lord our God, just as Cyrus, the king of the Persians, has commanded us.”
4 是に於てその地の民ユダの民の手を弱らせてその建築を妨げ
Therefore, it happened that the people of the land impeded the hands of the people of Judah, and they troubled them in building.
5 之が計る所を敗らんために議官に賄賂して之に敵せしむペルシヤ王クロスの世にある日よりペルシヤ王ダリヨスの治世まで常に然り
Then they hired counselors against them, so that they might argue against their plan during all the days of Cyrus, king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius, king of the Persians.
6 アハシユエロスの治世すなはち其治世の初に彼ら表を上りてユダとヱルサレムの民を誣訟へたり
And so, during the reign of Ahasuerus, at the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and of Jerusalem.
7 またアルタシヤスタの世にビシラム、ミテレダテ、タビエルおよびその餘の同僚同じく表をペルシヤの王アルタシヤスタに上つれり その書の文はスリヤの文字にて書きスリヤ語にて陳述たる者なりき
And so, in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, and Tabeel, and the others who were in their council wrote to Artaxerxes, king of the Persians. Now the letter of accusation was written in Syriac, and was being read in the Syrian language.
8 方伯レホム書記官シムシヤイ書をアルタシヤスタ王に書おくりてヱルサレムを誣ゆ左のごとし
Rehum, the commander, and Shimshai, the scribe, wrote one letter from Jerusalem to king Artaxerxes, in this manner:
9 即ち方伯レホム書記官シムシヤイおよびその餘の同僚デナ人アパルサテカイ人タルペライ人アパルサイ人アルケロイ人バビロン人シユシヤン人デハウ人エラマイ人
“Rehum, the commander, and Shimshai, the scribe, and the rest of their counselors, the judges, and rulers, the officials, those from Persia, from Erech, from Babylonia, from Susa, the Dehavites, and the Elamites,
10 ならびに其他の民すなはち大臣オスナパルが移してサマリアの邑および河外ふのその他の地に置し者等云々
and the rest of the nations, whom the great and glorious Osnappar transferred and caused to live in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the regions across the river in peace:
11 其アルタシヤスタ王に上りし書の稿は是なく云く河外ふの汝の僕等云々
to king Artaxerxes. (This is a copy of the letter, which they sent to him.) Your servants, the men who are across the river, send a greeting.
12 王知たまへ汝の所より上り來りしユダヤ人ヱルサレムに到りてわれらの中にいりかの背き悖る惡き邑を建なほし石垣を築きあげその基礎を固うせり
Let it be known to the king, that the Jews, who ascended from you to us, have arrived in Jerusalem, a rebellious and most wicked city, which they are building, constructing its ramparts and repairing the walls.
13 然ば王いま知たまへ 若この邑を建て石垣を築きあげなば彼ら必ず貢賦租税税金などを納じ 然すれば終に王等の不利とならん
And now let be it known to the king, that if this city will have been built up, and its walls repaired, they will not pay tribute, nor tax, nor yearly revenues, and this loss will affect even the kings.
14 そもそも我らは王の鹽を食む者なれば王の輕んぜらるるを見るに忍びず 茲に人を遣はし王に奏聞す
But, remembering the salt that we have eaten in the palace, and because we are led to believe that it is a crime to see the king harmed, we have therefore sent and reported to the king,
15 列祖の記録の書を稽へたまへ必ずその記録の書の中において此邑は背き悖る邑にして諸王と諸州とに害を加へし者なるを見その中に古來叛逆の事ありしを知たまふべし此邑の滅ぼされしは此故に縁るなり
so that you may search in the books of the histories of your fathers, and you may find written in the records, and you may know that this city is a rebellious city, and that it is harmful to the kings and the provinces, and that wars were incited within it from the days of antiquity. For which reason also, the city itself was destroyed.
16 我ら王に奏聞す 若この邑を建て石垣を築きあげなばなんぢは之がために河外ふの領分をうしなふなるべしと
We report to the king that if this city will have been built, and its walls repaired, you will have no possession across the river.”
17 王すなはち方伯レホム書記官シムシヤイこの餘サマリアおよび河外ふのほかの處に住る同僚に答書をおくりて云く平安あれ云々
The king sent word to Rehum, the commander, and to Shimshai, the scribe, and to the rest who were in their council, to the inhabitants of Samaria, and to the others across the river, offering a greeting and peace.
18 汝らが我儕におくりし書をば我前に讀解しめたり
“The accusation, which you have sent to us, has been read aloud before me.
19 我やがて詔書を下して稽考しめしに此邑の古來起りて諸王に背きし事その中に反亂謀叛のありし事など詳悉なり
And it was commanded by me, and they searched and found that this city, from the days of antiquity, has rebelled against the kings, and that seditions and battles have been incited within it.
20 またヱルサレムには在昔大なる王等ありて河外ふをことごとく治め貢賦租税税金などを己に納しめたる事あり
Then too, there have been very strong kings in Jerusalem, who also ruled over the entire region which is across the river. They have also taken tribute, and tax, and revenues.
21 然ば汝ら詔言を傳へて其人々を止め我が詔言を下すまで此邑を建ること無らしめよ
Now therefore, hear the sentence: Prohibit those men, so that this city may be not built, until perhaps there may be further orders from me.
22 汝ら愼め 之を爲ことを忽にする勿れ 何ぞ損害を増て王に害を及ぼすべけんやと
See to it that you are not negligent in fulfilling this, otherwise, little by little, the evil may increase against the kings.”
23 アルタシヤスタ王の書の稿をレホム及び書記官シムシヤイとその同僚の前に讀あげければ彼等すなはちヱルサレムに奔ゆきてユダヤ人に就き腕力と權威とをもて之を止めたり
And so a copy of the edict of king Artaxerxes was read before Rehum, the commander, and Shimshai, the scribe, and their counselors. And they went away hurriedly to Jerusalem, to the Jews. And they prohibited them by force and by strength.
24 此をもてヱルサレムなる神の室の工事止みぬ 即ちペルシヤ王ダリヨスの治世の二年まで止みたりき
Then the work of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem was interrupted, and it did not resume until the second year of the reign of Darius, the king of the Persians.
