Esdræ 4
1 Audierunt autem hostes Judæ et Benjamin, quia filii captivitatis ædificarent templum Domino Deo Israël:
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 et accedentes ad Zorobabel, et ad principes patrum, dixerunt eis: Ædificemus vobiscum, quia ita ut vos, quærimus Deum vestrum: ecce nos immolavimus victimas a diebus Asor Haddan regis Assur, qui adduxit nos huc.
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 Et dixit eis Zorobabel, et Josue, et reliqui principes patrum Israël: Non est vobis et nobis ut ædificemus domum Deo nostro, sed nos ipsi soli ædificabimus Domino Deo nostro, sicut præcepit nobis Cyrus rex Persarum.
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 Factum est igitur ut populus terræ impediret manus populi Judæ, et turbaret eos in ædificando.
Therefore, it happened that the people of the land impeded the hands of the people of Judah, and they troubled them in building.
5 Conduxerunt autem adversus eos consiliatores, ut destruerent consilium eorum omnibus diebus Cyri regis Persarum, et usque ad regnum Darii regis Persarum.
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 In regno autem Assueri, in principio regni ejus, scripserunt accusationem adversus habitatores Judæ et Jerusalem.
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 Et in diebus Artaxerxis scripsit Beselam, Mithridates, et Thabeel, et reliqui qui erant in consilio eorum, ad Artaxerxem regem Persarum: epistola autem accusationis scripta erat syriace, et legebatur sermone syro.
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 Reum Beelteem, et Samsai scriba, scripserunt epistolam unam de Jerusalem Artaxerxi regi, hujuscemodi:
Rehum, the commander, and Shimshai, the scribe, wrote one letter from Jerusalem to king Artaxerxes, in this manner:
9 Reum Beelteem, et Samsai scriba, et reliqui consiliatores eorum, Dinæi, et Apharsathachæi, Terphalæi, Apharsæi, Erchuæi, Babylonii, Susanechæi, Dievi, et Ælamitæ,
“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 et ceteri de gentibus, quas transtulit Asenaphar magnus et gloriosus, et habitare eas fecit in civitatibus Samariæ, et in reliquis regionibus trans flumen in pace
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 (hoc est exemplar epistolæ, quam miserunt ad eum), Artaxerxi regi, servi tui, viri qui sunt trans fluvium, salutem dicunt.
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 Notum sit regi quia Judæi, qui ascenderunt a te ad nos, venerunt in Jerusalem civitatem rebellem et pessimam, quam ædificant exstruentes muros ejus, et parietes componentes.
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 Nunc igitur notum sit regi, quia si civitas illa ædificata fuerit, et muri ejus instaurati, tributum, et vectigal, et annuos reditus non dabunt, et usque ad reges hæc noxa perveniet.
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 Nos autem memores salis, quod in palatio comedimus, et quia læsiones regis videre nefas ducimus, idcirco misimus et nuntiavimus regi,
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 ut recenseas in libris historiarum patrum tuorum, et invenies scriptum in commentariis: et scies quoniam urbs illa, urbs rebellis est, et nocens regibus et provinciis, et bella concitantur in ea ex diebus antiquis: quam ob rem et civitas ipsa destructa est.
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 Nuntiamus nos regi, quoniam si civitas illa ædificata fuerit, et muri ipsius instaurati, possessionem trans fluvium non habebis.
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 Verbum misit rex ad Reum Beelteem, et Samsai scribam, et ad reliquos, qui erant in consilio eorum habitatores Samariæ, et ceteris trans fluvium, salutem dicens et pacem.
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 Accusatio, quam misistis ad nos, manifeste lecta est coram me,
“The accusation, which you have sent to us, has been read aloud before me.
19 et a me præceptum est: et recensuerunt, inveneruntque quoniam civitas illa a diebus antiquis adversum reges rebellat, et seditiones, et prælia concitantur in ea:
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 nam et reges fortissimi fuerunt in Jerusalem, qui et dominati sunt omni regioni quæ trans fluvium est: tributum quoque et vectigal, et reditus accipiebant.
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 Nunc ergo audite sententiam: prohibeatis viros illos, ut urbs illa non ædificetur donec si forte a me jussum fuerit.
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 Videte ne negligenter hoc impleatis, et paulatim crescat malum contra reges.
See to it that you are not negligent in fulfilling this, otherwise, little by little, the evil may increase against the kings.”
23 Itaque exemplum edicti Artaxerxis regis lectum est coram Reum Beelteem, et Samsai scriba, et consiliariis eorum: et abierunt festini in Jerusalem ad Judæos, et prohibuerunt eos in brachio et robore.
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 Tunc intermissum est opus domus Domini in Jerusalem, et non fiebat usque ad annum secundum regni Darii regis Persarum.
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.
