Esdras 4
1 Llegaron noticias a los que odiaban a Judá y Benjamín, de que las personas que habían regresado estaban reconstruyendo un templo para el Señor, el Dios de Israel;
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].
2 Entonces vinieron a Zorobabel y a los jefes de familia, y les dijeron: Participemos en el edificio contigo; Porque somos siervos de tu Dios, así como tú eres; y le hemos estado haciendo ofrendas desde los días de Esar-hadon, rey de Asiria, que nos puso aquí.
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.”
3 Pero Zorobabel, Josué y el resto de los jefes de familia en Israel les respondieron: Tú no tienes parte con nosotros en la construcción de un templo para nuestro Dios; nosotros mismos haremos el trabajo juntos por el Señor, el Dios de Israel, como Ciro, el rey de Persia, nos ha dado órdenes.
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.”
4 Entonces la gente de la tierra hizo débiles las manos de la gente de Judá, atemorizándolos para que no terminaran la reconstrucción;
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.
5 Y sobornaron a hombres que hicieron planes contra ellos y les impidieron cumplir su propósito, durante todo el tiempo de Ciro, rey de Persia, hasta que Darío se convirtió en rey.
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.
6 Y en el tiempo de Asuero, cuando se convirtió en rey por primera vez, dejaron constancia de una declaración contra el pueblo de Judá y Jerusalén.
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].
7 Y en el tiempo de Artajerjes, Bislam, Mitrídates, Tabeel y el resto de sus amigos, enviaron una carta a Artajerjes, rey de Persia, escribiéndola en la escritura y el idioma arameos.
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].
8 Rehum, el principal gobernante, y Simsai, el escriba, enviaron una carta contra Jerusalén, al rey Artajerjes;
Rehum, the high commissioner, and Shimshai, the provincial secretary, wrote the letter to King Artaxerxes concerning what was happening in Jerusalem.
9 La carta fue enviada por Rehum, el gobernante principal, y Simsai, el escriba y sus amigos; los Dineos, Aparsaqueos, Tarpelitas, Afarseos, Arqueos, Babilonios, los Susasqueos, los Dieveos, y los Elamitas,
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].
10 Y el resto de las naciones que el gran y noble Asnapar llevó desterradas y puso en Samaria y en el resto del país sobre el río:
[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].
11 Esta es una copia de la carta que enviaron al rey Artajerjes: Tus siervos que viven al otro lado del río envían estas palabras:
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.]
12 Le damos noticias al rey de que los judíos que vinieron de ustedes vinieron a nosotros a Jerusalén; están construyendo otra vez esa ciudad descontrolada y malvada; Las paredes están completas y están uniendo los fundamentos.
“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].
13 El rey puede estar seguro de que cuando se complete la construcción de esta ciudad y sus muros, no pagarán impuestos ni pagos en bienes o tributo, y al final será una causa de pérdida para los reyes.
“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.
14 Ahora, porque somos responsables ante el rey, y no es correcto que veamos que se daña el honor del rey, hemos enviado para hacerlo saber al rey la palabra de estas cosas,
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.
15 Para que la búsqueda se haga en el libro de los registros de sus antepasados, y verás en el libro de los registros que esta ciudad ha sido descontrolada, y que causa problemas a los reyes y países, y que allí hubo arrebatos contra la autoridad allí en el pasado: por lo que la ciudad fue destruida.
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].
16 Les damos la noticia de que si la construcción de esta ciudad y sus muros se completan, habrá un fin de su poder en el país al otro lado del río.
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].”
17 Entonces el rey envió una respuesta a Rehum, el gobernante principal, a Simsai el escriba, a sus amigos que viven en Samaria, y al resto de los que están al otro lado del río, diciéndoles: ¡Paz!
[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).
18 Y ahora se me ha aclarado el sentido de la carta que nos enviaste.
The letter that you sent to me was translated and read to me.
19 Y di órdenes de que se realizará una búsqueda, y es cierto que en el pasado este pueblo causó problemas a los reyes y que allí se produjeron rebeliones contra la autoridad.
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.
20 Además, ha habido grandes reyes en Jerusalén, que gobiernan todo el país al otro lado del río, a quienes se les entregan impuestos y pagos de bienes y tributos.
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.
21 Da una orden ahora, que estos hombres no continúen, y que la construcción de la ciudad debe ser detenida, hasta que yo dé una orden.
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.
22 Asegúrate de hacer esto con todo cuidado; no permitas que los problemas aumenten para perjuicio de los reyes.
Do this immediately [LIT], because I do not want those people to do anything to harm the things/area about which I am concerned.”
23 Luego, después de leer la carta del rey, Rehum y Simsai, el escriba y sus amigos fueron rápidamente a Jerusalén, a los judíos, y los hicieron detener la reconstrucción por la fuerza.
[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].
24 Así de está manera fue la obra del templo de Dios en Jerusalén; así se detuvo, hasta el segundo año del gobierno de Darío, rey de Persia.
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.
