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Ezra 4
Christian Standard Bible
Ezra 4
Christian Standard Bible
Opposition to Rebuilding the Temple
4 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin(A) heard that the returned exiles[a](B) were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the family heads and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we also worship your God and have been sacrificing to him[b] since the time King Esar-haddon of Assyria brought us here.”(C)
3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other heads of Israel’s families answered them, “You may have no part with us in building a house for our God,(D) since we alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.”(E) 4 Then the people who were already in the land[c] discouraged[d] the people of Judah and made them afraid(F) to build. 5 They also bribed officials to act against them to frustrate their plans(G) throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia and until the reign of King Darius of Persia.(H)
Opposition to Rebuilding the City
6 At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus,(I) the people who were already in the land(J) wrote an accusation against the residents of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 During the time of King Artaxerxes of Persia,(K) Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his colleagues wrote to King Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic(L) and translated.[e]
8 Rehum the chief deputy and Shimshai the scribe(M) wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes concerning Jerusalem as follows:
9 From Rehum[f] the chief deputy, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues—the judges and magistrates[g] from Tripolis, Persia, Erech, Babylon, Susa(N) (that is, the people of Elam),[h] 10 and the rest of the peoples whom the great and illustrious Ashurbanipal[i] deported and settled in the cities of Samaria(O) and the region west of the Euphrates River.(P)
11 This is the text of the letter they sent to him:
To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men from the region west of the Euphrates River:
12 Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you have returned to us at Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and evil city, finishing its walls, and repairing its foundations. 13 Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are finished,(Q) they will not pay tribute, duty, or land tax,(R) and the royal revenue[j] will suffer. 14 Since we have taken an oath of loyalty to the king,[k] and it is not right for us to witness his dishonor, we have sent to inform the king 15 that a search should be made in your predecessors’ record books.(S) In these record books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces. There have been revolts in it since ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed. 16 We advise the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, you will not have any possession west of the Euphrates.
Artaxerxes’s Reply
17 The king sent a reply to his chief deputy Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues living in Samaria and elsewhere in the region west of the Euphrates River:
Greetings.
18 The letter you sent us has been translated and read[l](T) in my presence. 19 I issued a decree and a search was conducted. It was discovered that this city has had uprisings against kings since ancient times, and there have been rebellions and revolts in it. 20 Powerful kings have also ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region west of the Euphrates River, and tribute, duty, and land tax were paid to them. 21 Therefore, issue an order for these men to stop, so that this city will not be rebuilt until a further decree has been pronounced by me.(U) 22 See that you not neglect this matter. Otherwise, the damage will increase and the royal interests[m] will suffer.
23 As soon as the text of King Artaxerxes’s letter was read to Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues,(V) they immediately went to the Jews in Jerusalem and forcibly stopped them.
Rebuilding of the Temple Resumed
24 Now the construction of God’s house in Jerusalem had stopped and remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.(W)
Footnotes
- 4:1 Lit the sons of the exile
- 4:2 Alt Hb tradition reads have not been sacrificing
- 4:4 Lit people of the land, also in v. 6
- 4:4 Lit weakened the hands of
- 4:7 Ezr 4:8–6:18 is written in Aramaic.
- 4:9 Lit Then Rehum
- 4:9 Or ambassadors
- 4:9 Aramaic obscure
- 4:10 Lit Osnappar
- 4:13 Aramaic obscure
- 4:14 Lit have eaten the salt of the palace
- 4:18 Or been read clearly
- 4:22 Lit the kings
Ezra 4
New International Version
Ezra 4
New International Version
Opposition to the Rebuilding
4 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building(A) a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon(B) king of Assyria, who brought us here.”(C)
3 But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.”(D)
4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.[a](E) 5 They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Later Opposition Under Xerxes and Artaxerxes
6 At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes,[b](F) they lodged an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.(G)
7 And in the days of Artaxerxes(H) king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic script and in the Aramaic(I) language.[c][d]
8 Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:
9 Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, together with the rest of their associates(J)—the judges, officials and administrators over the people from Persia, Uruk(K) and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,(L) 10 and the other people whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal(M) deported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates.(N)
11 (This is a copy of the letter they sent him.)
To King Artaxerxes,
From your servants in Trans-Euphrates:
12 The king should know that the people who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring the walls and repairing the foundations.(O)
13 Furthermore, the king should know that if this city is built and its walls are restored, no more taxes, tribute or duty(P) will be paid, and eventually the royal revenues will suffer.[e] 14 Now since we are under obligation to the palace and it is not proper for us to see the king dishonored, we are sending this message to inform the king, 15 so that a search may be made in the archives(Q) of your predecessors. In these records you will find that this city is a rebellious city, troublesome to kings and provinces, a place with a long history of sedition. That is why this city was destroyed.(R) 16 We inform the king that if this city is built and its walls are restored, you will be left with nothing in Trans-Euphrates.
17 The king sent this reply:
To Rehum the commanding officer, Shimshai the secretary and the rest of their associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates:(S)
Greetings.
18 The letter you sent us has been read and translated in my presence. 19 I issued an order and a search was made, and it was found that this city has a long history of revolt(T) against kings and has been a place of rebellion and sedition. 20 Jerusalem has had powerful kings ruling over the whole of Trans-Euphrates,(U) and taxes, tribute and duty were paid to them. 21 Now issue an order to these men to stop work, so that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order. 22 Be careful not to neglect this matter. Why let this threat grow, to the detriment of the royal interests?(V)
23 As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates,(W) they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop.
24 Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius(X) king of Persia.
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