Ezra 4
4
Resistance Weakens the People
1When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple for Adonai the God of Israel,
2they approached Zerubbabel and the leading patriarchs and said to them, “Let us build with you, for like you we seek your God and have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, who brought us here.”
3But Zerubbabel, Jeshua and the rest of the prominent patriarchs of Israel said to them, “It is not for you and us to build a House for our God—but we alone will build it for Adonai the God of Israel, just as Cyrus—king of Persia—has commanded us.”
4Then the people of the land began discouraging the people of Judah and making them afraid to build.
5They bribed advisors in order to thwart their plans all the days of King Cyrus of Persia and until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
6During the reign of Ahasuerus at the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
7Also during the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.
8Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter concerning Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:
9From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates—the judges and the officials, the magistrates, and governors over the Erechites, the Babylonians, the people of Susa (that is, the Elamites)
10and the rest of the peoples whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the city of Samaria and the rest of Trans-Euphrates. (Now
11this is a copy of the letter they sent to him.) To Artaxerxes the king, from your servants, the men of Trans-Euphrates: Now
12let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding the rebellious and wicked city. They are completing the walls and repairing the foundations.
13“Furthermore, let it be known to the king, that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, no more tribute, taxes or duty will be paid and the royal revenue will suffer.
14Now since we eat the salt of the palace, and it is not proper for us to see the king dishonored, we are sending this message to inform the king
15so that a search may be made in the book of records of your fathers and you will discover in the records and know that this city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, inciting internal revolts from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed.
16We are informing the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls completed, you will no longer have any possession in Trans-Euphrates.”
17The king sent this reply: “To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates who dwell in Samaria and the others in Trans-Euphrates. “Shalom!
18“The letter that you sent to us has been translated and read in my presence.
19At my order a search was made and it was found that this city has from earliest times revolted against kings and that rebellion and sedition continually occur in it.
20Mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem governing all the Trans-Euphrates, and tribute, taxes, and duty were paid to them.
21“So now, issue a decree to stop these men—this city is not to be rebuilt until I issue a decree.
22Be careful not to be negligent in this matter. Why should damage increase to the detriment of the kings?”
23Then, as soon as the copy of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read in the presence of Rehum, Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they hurried off to the Jews in Jerusalem and by force and power compelled them to stop.
24Thus the work on the House of God in Jerusalem ceased. It remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Ezra 4
4
Enemies of the Rebuilding
1When the enemies of the people of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned captives were building a Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders of the families. The enemies said, “Let us help you build, because we are like you and want to worship your God. We have been offering sacrifices to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”
3But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the leaders of Israel answered, “You will not help us build a Temple to our God. We will build it ourselves for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us to do.”
4Then the people around them tried to discourage the people of Judah by making them afraid to build. 5Their enemies hired others to delay the building plans during the time Cyrus was king of Persia. And it continued to the time Darius was king of Persia.
More Problems for the Builders
6When Xerxes first became king, those enemies wrote a letter against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.
7When Artaxerxes became king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and those with them wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. It was written in the Aramaic language and translated.
8Rehum the governor and Shimshai the governor’s secretary wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king. It said:
9This letter is from Rehum the governor, Shimshai the secretary, and their fellow workers—the judges and important officers over the men who came from Tripolis, Persia, Erech, and Babylon, the Elamite people of Susa, 10and those whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal forced out of their countries and settled in the city of Samaria and in other places of the Trans-Euphrates.
11(This is a copy of the letter they sent to Artaxerxes.)
To King Artaxerxes.
From your servants who live in Trans-Euphrates.
12King Artaxerxes, you should know that the Jewish people who came to us from you have gone to Jerusalem to rebuild that evil city that refuses to obey. They are fixing the walls and repairing the foundations of the buildings.
13Now, King Artaxerxes, you should know that if Jerusalem is built and its walls are fixed, Jerusalem will not pay taxes of any kind. Then the amount of money your government collects will be less. 14Since we must be loyal to the government, we don’t want to see the king dishonored. So we are writing to let the king know. 15We suggest you search the records of the kings who ruled before you. You will find out that the city of Jerusalem refuses to obey and makes trouble for kings and areas controlled by Persia. Since long ago it has been a place where disobedience has started. That is why it was destroyed. 16We want you to know, King Artaxerxes, that if this city is rebuilt and its walls fixed, you will be left with nothing in Trans-Euphrates.
17King Artaxerxes sent this answer:
To Rehum the governor and Shimshai the secretary, to all their fellow workers living in Samaria, and to those in other places in Trans-Euphrates.
Greetings.
18The letter you sent to us has been translated and read to me. 19I ordered the records to be searched, and it was done. We found that Jerusalem has a history of disobedience to kings and has been a place of problems and trouble. 20Jerusalem has had powerful kings who have ruled over the whole area of Trans-Euphrates, and taxes of all kinds have been paid to them. 21Now, give an order for those men to stop work. The city of Jerusalem will not be rebuilt until I say so. 22Make sure you do this, because if they continue, it will hurt the government.
23A copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes sent was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and the others. Then they quickly went to the Jewish people in Jerusalem and forced them to stop building.
24So the work on the Temple of God in Jerusalem stopped until the second year Darius was king of Persia.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.