Ezra 4
4
Opposition to Rebuilding the Temple
1When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin#Neh 2:19–20 heard that the returned exiles#4:1 Lit the sons of the exile#Ezr 1:11; 2:1 were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2they 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#4:2 Alt Hb tradition reads have not been sacrificing since the time King Esar-haddon of Assyria brought us here.”#2Kg 17:24,27–32; 19:37; Is 37:38
3But 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,#Neh 2:20 since we alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.”#Ezr 1:1–4 4Then the people who were already in the land#4:4 Lit people of the land, also in v. 6 discouraged#4:4 Lit weakened the hands of the people of Judah and made them afraid#Ezr 3:3 to build. 5They also bribed officials to act against them to frustrate their plans#Neh 6:12–13; 13:2 throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia and until the reign of King Darius of Persia.#Ezr 5:5; 6:1
Opposition to Rebuilding the City
6At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus,#Est 1:1; Dn 9:1 the people who were already in the land#Ezr 3:3 wrote an accusation against the residents of Judah and Jerusalem. 7During the time of King Artaxerxes of Persia,#Ezr 7:1; Neh 2:1 Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his colleagues wrote to King Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic#Dn 1:4; 2:4 and translated.#4:7 Ezr 4:8–6:18 is written in Aramaic.
8Rehum the chief deputy and Shimshai the scribe#Ezr 4:17,23–24 wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes concerning Jerusalem as follows:
9From Rehum#4:9 Lit Then Rehum the chief deputy, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues — the judges and magistrates#4:9 Or ambassadors from Tripolis, Persia, Erech, Babylon, Susa#Neh 1:1; Est 1:2; Dn 8:2 (that is, the people of Elam),#4:9 Aramaic obscure 10and the rest of the peoples whom the great and illustrious Ashurbanipal#4:10 Lit Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria#2Kg 17:24 and the region west of the Euphrates River.#Ezr 4:16–17,20
11This 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:
12Let 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. 13Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are finished,#Ezr 4:16,21; Neh 1:3 they will not pay tribute, duty, or land tax,#Ezr 4:20; 7:24 and the royal revenue#4:13 Aramaic obscure will suffer. 14Since we have taken an oath of loyalty to the king,#4:14 Lit have eaten the salt of the palace and it is not right for us to witness his dishonor, we have sent to inform the king 15that a search should be made in your predecessors’ record books.#Ezr 5:17; 6:1 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. 16We 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
17The 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.
18The letter you sent us has been translated and read#4:18 Or been read clearly#Neh 8:8 in my presence. 19I 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. 20Powerful 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. 21Therefore, 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.#Neh 2:5,7–8 22See that you not neglect this matter. Otherwise, the damage will increase and the royal interests#4:22 Lit the kings will suffer.
23As soon as the text of King Artaxerxes’s letter was read to Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues,#Ezr 4:8–10,17 they immediately went to the Jews in Jerusalem and forcibly stopped them.
Rebuilding of the Temple Resumed
24Now 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.#Ezr 4:1–5; Hg 1:1,14
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Ezra 4
4
1 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 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 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 Therefore, it happened that the people of the land impeded the hands of the people of Judah, and they troubled them in building.
5 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 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 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 Rehum, the commander, and Shimshai, the scribe, wrote one letter from Jerusalem to king Artaxerxes, in this manner:
9 "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 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 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 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 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 But, remembering the salt that we have eaten in the palace, and because we are led to believe that it a crime to see the king harmed, we have therefore sent and reported to the king,
15 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 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 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 "The accusation, which you have sent to us, has been read aloud before me.
19 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 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 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 See to it that you are not negligent in fulfilling this, otherwise, little by little, the evil may increase against the kings."
23 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 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.
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