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Ezra 4:6-8
Easy-to-Read Version
Ezra 4:6-8
Easy-to-Read Version
6 These enemies even wrote letters to the king of Persia trying to stop the Jews. They wrote a letter the year that Xerxes[a] became the king of Persia.
Enemies Against Rebuilding Jerusalem
7 Later, when Artaxerxes became the new king of Persia, some of these men wrote another letter complaining about the Jews. The men who wrote the letter were Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the other people in their group. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.[b]
8 [c] Then Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against the people of Jerusalem. They wrote the letter to Artaxerxes the king. This is what they wrote:
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ezra 4:6 Xerxes King of Persia about 485–465 B.C.
- Ezra 4:7 The letter … translated Or “The letter was written in the local language, but with Aramaic characters, and then translated into Aramaic.” This would mean the scribe used the “modern” Aramaic alphabet rather than the older alphabet that was still being used in Judah.
- Ezra 4:8 Here, the original language changes from Hebrew to Aramaic.
Ezra 4:6-8
New International Version
Ezra 4:6-8
New International Version
Later Opposition Under Xerxes and Artaxerxes
6 At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes,[a](A) they lodged an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.(B)
7 And in the days of Artaxerxes(C) 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(D) language.[b][c]
8 Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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