Ezra 4:6-23

New Catholic Bible

Later Hostility.^{[a] 6} At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus, the people of the land drew up an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. ⁷ And later, in the days of Artaxerxes of Persia, Mithredath joined Tabeel and their other associates in writing a letter to the king in Aramaic and then translated.

⁸ After that, Rehum the governor and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes denouncing Jerusalem as follows:

⁹ “From Rehum the governor and Shimshai the secretary, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the envoys, the officials, the magistrates, and the governors over the men from Tripolis, Persia, Erech, and Babylon, the Elamites in Susa, and ¹⁰ all the other peoples whom the great and illustrious Ashurbanipal deported and settled, in the city of Samaria and in the rest of the province of West-of-Euphrates.”^[b]

¹¹ This is a copy of the letter that they sent to him: “To King Artaxerxes, from your servants, the people of the province of Trans-Euphrates: ¹² The king has the right to know that the Jews who came up from you to us have arrived in Jerusalem and are in the process of rebuilding this rebellious and wicked city. They have restored the walls and are repairing the foundations. ¹³ Now we wish to inform the king that if the city is rebuilt and the walls are restored, they will refuse to pay tribute, taxes, or tolls, causing the royal revenues to be sharply reduced.

¹⁴ “Now, because we share the salt of the palace,^[c] we know that it is not right for us to witness the king’s dishonor. We therefore are sending this information to the king ¹⁵ in order that a search may be made in the archives of your ancestors. In those archives you will discover that this is a rebellious city greatly troublesome to kings and provinces, and that sedition has been stirred up within its walls from the earliest times. That is why this city was destroyed. ¹⁶ Therefore, we wish to inform you, O king, that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are raised up again, you will be left without any territory in Trans-Euphrates.”

¹⁷ The king sent this reply: “To Rehum the governor, to Shimshai the secretary, and to the rest of their associates who reside in Samaria and in the province of West-of-Euphrates: Greetings!

¹⁸ “The letter you have sent to us has now been accurately translated and been read in my presence. ¹⁹ When an inquiry was made at my command, it was discovered that this city has frequently risen up against the kings in the past, and that revolt and rebellion were more than an occasional occurrence. ²⁰ In addition, powerful kings have reigned in Jerusalem and exercised authority over the entire province of West-of-Euphrates while exacting tribute, taxes, and tolls.

²¹ “Therefore, now give orders that these men must cease their work, and make it clear that this city is not to be rebuilt until I issue a decree to that effect. ²² And take care that you do not act negligently in this regard, lest the damage increase, to the detriment of the royal house.”

²³ As soon as the text of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read before Rehum the governor, Shimshai the secretary, and their colleagues, they traveled immediately to Jerusalem and compelled the Jews by force of arms to stop their work.