Ezra 4
Expanded Bible
Enemies of the Rebuilding
4 When the enemies of the people of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned ·captives [exiles] were building a Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel [C a descendant of David; 1 Chr. 3:19] and the ·leaders of the families [L heads of the fathers]. The enemies said, “Let us help you build, because we are like you and ·want to worship [L seek] your God. We have been offering sacrifices to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria [C 680–669 bc], who brought us here.”
3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua [3:2], and the ·leaders [L heads of the fathers] of Israel answered, “You will ·not help us build [have no part in building] a ·Temple [L house] to our God. We will build it ·ourselves [alone] for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us to do [1:2–4].”
4 Then the people around them tried to discourage the people of Judah by making them afraid to build. 5 Their enemies ·hired others [bribed officials] to ·delay [frustrate] the building plans ·during [throughout] the time Cyrus was king of Persia. And it continued to the time Darius was king of Persia [C 522–486 bc].
More Problems for the Builders
6 When ·Xerxes [L Ahasuerus; C ruled 486–465 bc; Esth. 1:1] first became king, those enemies ·wrote [filed; lodged] a ·letter [L accusation] against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.
7 When Artaxerxes [C ruled about 465–425 B.C.] 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.
8 Rehum the ·governor [commander] and Shimshai the governor’s ·secretary [scribe] and those with them wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king. It said:
9 This letter is from Rehum the ·governor [commander], Shimshai the ·secretary [scribe], and their ·fellow workers [colleagues]—the judges and important officers over the men who came from Tripolis, Persia, Erech, and Babylon, the Elamite people of Susa, 10 and those whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal [L Osnappar; C ruled 668–627 bc] ·forced out of their countries [deported] and settled in the city of Samaria and in other places of the Trans-Euphrates [C provinces west of the Euphrates River].
11 (This is a copy of the letter they sent to Artaxerxes.)
To King Artaxerxes.
From your servants who live in Trans-Euphrates [v. 10].
12 King Artaxerxes, you should know that the Jews who came to us from you have gone to Jerusalem to rebuild that evil ·city that refuses to obey [and rebellious city]. They are ·fixing [restoring; rebuilding; finishing] the walls and repairing the foundations of the buildings.
13 Now, King Artaxerxes, ·you should know [L let it be known] that if Jerusalem is ·built [rebuilt] and its walls are ·fixed [completed; restored], Jerusalem will not pay ·taxes of any kind [L tribute, custom, or toll]. Then the ·amount of money your government collects [king’s/royal treasury/revenue] will ·be less [suffer]. 14 Since we ·must be loyal to the government [L eat the palace’s salt], ·we don’t want [it is not proper] to see the king ·dishonored [damaged]. So we ·are writing to let the king know [L send and inform the king]. 15 ·We suggest you […so that you may] search the ·records [annals; archives] of ·the kings who ruled before you [L your fathers/ancestors]. You will find out that the city of Jerusalem ·refuses to obey [L is a rebellious city] and ·makes trouble for kings and areas controlled by Persia [troublesome for kings and provinces]. ·Since long ago it has been a place where disobedience has started [It has a long history of revolts/sedition]. That is why it was destroyed. 16 We want you to know, King Artaxerxes, that if this city is rebuilt and its walls ·fixed [completed; restored], you will be left with ·nothing [no possessions] in Trans-Euphrates [C provinces west of the Euphrates River].
17 King Artaxerxes sent this answer:
To Rehum the ·governor [commander] and Shimshai the ·secretary [scribe], to all their ·fellow workers [colleagues] living in Samaria [C northern Israel], and to those ·in other places in [throughout] Trans-Euphrates [v. 10].
·Greetings [Peace].
18 The ·letter [document] you sent to us has been translated and read ·to me [L in my presence]. 19 I ordered ·the records to be searched [L a search], and it was done. We found that ·Jerusalem [L the city] has a history of ·disobedience to [rising against] kings and has been a place of ·problems and trouble [rebellion and revolt/sedition]. 20 Jerusalem has had powerful kings who have ruled over the whole area of Trans-Euphrates [v. 10], and ·taxes of all kinds [L tribute, custom, and toll] have been paid to them. 21 Now, ·give an order [issue a decree] for those men to stop work. The city of Jerusalem will not be rebuilt until I ·say so [issue a decree]. 22 ·Make sure you do this [Do not neglect this matter], ·because if they continue, it will hurt the government [—why should the danger/damage grow and harm the king?].
23 As soon as a copy of the ·letter [document] that King Artaxerxes sent was read to Rehum and Shimshai the ·secretary [scribe] and ·the others [their colleagues], they went to the Jews in Jerusalem and ·forced them [or compelled them by force of arms] to stop building.
24 So the work on the ·Temple [L house] of God in Jerusalem ·stopped [came to a standstill] until the second year Darius was king of Persia.
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Nehemiah 4
Expanded Bible
Those Against the Rebuilding
4 When Sanballat heard we were rebuilding the wall, he was very angry, even furious. He ·made fun of [mocked; ridiculed] the Jewish people. 2 He said to his ·friends [colleagues; L brothers] and ·those with power in [or the army/aristocracy of] Samaria, “What are these ·weak [feeble; pathetic] Jews doing? Will they ·rebuild the wall [or leave it all to God]? Will they offer sacrifices? Can they finish it in one day? Can they ·bring stones back to life from piles of trash and ashes [revive stones from piles of rubble—burnt stones at that]?”
3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was ·next to Sanballat [L beside him], said, “If a fox climbed up on the stone wall they are building, it would break it down.”
4 I prayed, “Hear us, our God. We are ·hated [despised]. Turn the ·insults [taunts; sneers] of Sanballat and Tobiah back on their own heads. ·Let them be captured and stolen like valuables [Send them as plunder to a land of exile]. 5 Do not ·hide [cover; ignore] their guilt or ·take away [blot out] their sins so that you can’t see them, because they have ·insulted [deeply offended; or demoralized] the builders.”
6 So we rebuilt [L and connected/joined together] the wall to half its height, because the people were ·willing to [enthusiastic in their; L had a heart to] work.
7 But Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people from Ashdod were very angry when they heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls were continuing and that the ·holes [gaps; breaches] in the wall were being closed. 8 So they all made plans to come to Jerusalem and fight and ·stir up trouble [cause confusion/a disturbance]. 9 But we prayed to our God and appointed guards ·to watch for [L against] them day and night.
10 The people of Judah said, “The ·workers are getting tired [strength of the laborers is failing]. There is so much ·trash [debris; rubble] we cannot rebuild the wall.”
11 And our enemies said, “·The Jews [L They] won’t know or see anything until we come among them and kill them and stop the work.”
12 Then the Jewish people who lived near our enemies came and ·told [warned] us repeatedly [L ten times], “·Everywhere you turn [From every direction], the enemy will attack us.” 13 So I ·put [stationed] people behind the lowest places along the wall—the ·open [exposed] places—and I ·put families together [stationed people by families] with their swords, spears, and bows. 14 ·Then I looked around and [After an inspection, I] stood up and said to the ·important men [nobles], the ·leaders [officials], and the rest of the people: “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and ·powerful [awesome; glorious]. Fight for your brothers, your sons and daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
15 Then our enemies heard that we knew about their plans and that God had ·ruined [frustrated; thwarted] their plans. So we all went back to the wall, each to his own work.
16 From that day on, half my people worked on the wall. The other half was ready with spears, shields, bows, and armor. The ·officers [leaders] stood in back of the ·people [L house] of Judah 17 who were building the wall. Those who carried ·materials [loads] did their work with one hand and carried a weapon with the other. 18 Each builder wore his sword at his side as he ·worked [built]. The trumpeter [C to signal an attack] stayed next to me.
19 Then I said to the ·important people [nobles], the ·leaders [officials], and everyone else, “This is ·a very big job [demanding work]. We are spread out along the wall so that we are far apart. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, ·assemble there [rally to us here]. Our God will fight for us.”
21 So we continued to work with half the men holding spears from ·sunrise [dawn] till the stars came out. 22 At that time I also said to the people, “Let every man and his ·helper [servant] stay inside Jerusalem at night. They can be our guards at night and workmen during the day.” 23 Neither I, my ·brothers [colleagues], my ·workers [servants], nor the guards with me ever ·took off [changed] our clothes. Each person carried his weapon even when he went for water.
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