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以斯拉记 4
Chinese New Version (Simplified)

重建圣殿的工作受拦阻

4 犹大和便雅悯的敌人听见被掳回来的人为耶和华以色列的　神重建圣殿， 2 就前来见所罗巴伯和众族长，对他们说：“请让我们与你们一起建造吧！因为我们也像你们那样寻求你们的　神。自从亚述王以撒哈顿把我们带上这里的日子以来，我们一直向他献祭。” 3 但所罗巴伯、耶书亚和以色列其余的族长对他们说：“你们不能与我们一同建筑　神的殿，因为波斯王古列王吩咐我们自己为耶和华以色列的　神建殿。” 4 于是那地方的居民使犹大人的手发软，惊扰他们的建筑工程。 5 又在波斯王古列的日子，直到波斯王大利乌在位的时候，常常贿买参谋，来敌对犹大人，要破坏他们的建殿计划。

敌人上奏控告犹大人

6 亚哈随鲁在位的初期，他们写了诉状，控告犹大和耶路撒冷的居民。 7 在亚达薛西年间，比施兰、米特利达、他别和其余的同僚，也上书给波斯王亚达薛西，反对耶路撒冷人，奏文是用亚兰文写成，并且翻译了（“并且翻译了”指为亚达薛西王翻译为波斯文字；参18节）。 8 省长利宏和秘书伸帅写奏本给亚达薛西王，控告耶路撒冷。奏文如下： 9 省长利宏、秘书伸帅和他们其余的同僚：法官、钦差、议员、官长（“法官、钦差、议员、官长”或译：“底拿人、亚法萨提迦人、他毘拉人、亚法撒人”），亚基卫人、巴比伦人、书珊人，就是以拦人， 10 还有伟大尊贵的亚斯那巴掳来安置在撒玛利亚城和河西那边其余地方的居民，呈上奏文。 11 这就是他们呈给亚达薛西王的奏文副本：“你的臣仆，就是河西那边的人，上奏亚达薛西王： 12 奏知大王：从你那里上到我们这里来的犹大人，已经到了耶路撒冷这座叛逆和邪恶的城；他们进行建造，并且已经修好根基，开始建造城墙。 13 现在奏知大王：如果这城建成，墙垣筑好，他们就不再缴税、进贡和纳粮，王的国库收入必定受损。 14 现在我们既食王家的盐，不该见王受剥夺，因此上奏禀告王， 15 请王查考先王的记录，从记录中查知这城是叛逆的城，对列王和各省都有损害，自古以来，城中常有造反的事，因此这城被拆毁。 16 我们告知王，如果这城建成，墙垣筑好，河西那边的地方就不再是王的了。”

王降旨下令停工

17 王把谕旨送交省长利宏、秘书伸帅，以及其余住在撒玛利亚和河西的同僚，说：“愿你们平安。 18 你们呈给我们的奏本已经在我面前翻译和诵读了。 19 我下令考查，发现这城自古以来反叛列王，城中常有造反叛乱的事。 20 从前大能的君王统治耶路撒冷，治理河西那边的全地，接受他们缴税、进贡和纳粮。 21 现在你们要下令叫这些人停工，不得重建这城，等候我的谕令。 22 你们要留心，不可疏忽这事，使王的亏损增加。”

23 当亚达薛西王谕旨的副本在利宏和秘书伸帅，以及他们的同僚面前宣读出来以后，他们就急忙去耶路撒冷到犹大人那里，用武力强迫他们停工。 24 所以，在耶路撒冷的神殿的工程就停止了，直到波斯王大利乌在位的第二年。

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Ezra 4
New English Translation

Opposition to the Building Efforts

4 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin learned that the former exiles[a] were building a temple for the Lord God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders[b] and said to them, “Let us help you build,[c] for like you we seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him[d] from the time[e] of King Esarhaddon[f] of Assyria, who brought us here.”[g] 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them, “You have no right[h] to help us build the temple of our God. We will build it by ourselves for the Lord God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.” 4 Then the local people[i] began to discourage[j] the people of Judah and to dishearten them from building. 5 They were hiring advisers to oppose them, so as to frustrate their plans, throughout the time[k] of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius[l] of Persia.[m]

Official Complaints Are Lodged Against the Jews

6 [n] At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus[o] they filed an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 And during the reign[p] of Artaxerxes, Bishlam,[q] Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their colleagues[r] wrote to King Artaxerxes[s] of Persia. This letter[t] was first written in Aramaic but then translated.

[What follows is in Aramaic][u]

8 Rehum the commander[v] and Shimshai the scribe[w] wrote a letter concerning[x] Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows: 9 From[y] Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues—the judges, the rulers, the officials, the secretaries, the Erechites, the Babylonians, the people of Susa (that is,[z] the Elamites), 10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal[aa] deported and settled in the cities[ab] of Samaria and other places in Trans-Euphrates.[ac] 11 (This is a copy of the letter they sent to him.)

“To King Artaxerxes,[ad] from your servants in[ae] Trans-Euphrates: 12 Now[af] let the king be aware that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and odious city.[ag] They are completing its walls and repairing its foundations. 13 Let the king also be aware that if this city is built and its walls are completed, no more tax, custom, or toll will be paid, and the royal treasury[ah] will suffer loss. 14 In light of the fact that we are loyal to the king,[ai] and since it does not seem appropriate to us that the king should sustain damage,[aj] we are sending the king this information[ak] 15 so that he may initiate a search of the records[al] of his predecessors[am] and discover in those records[an] that this city is rebellious[ao] and injurious to both kings and provinces, producing internal revolts[ap] from long ago.[aq] It is for this very reason that this city was destroyed. 16 We therefore are informing the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, you will not retain control[ar] of this portion of Trans-Euphrates.”

17 The king sent the following response:

“To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and other parts of Trans-Euphrates: Greetings![as] 18 The letter you sent to us has been translated and read in my presence. 19 So I gave orders,[at] and it was determined[au] that this city from long ago has been engaging in insurrection against kings. It has continually engaged in[av] rebellion and revolt. 20 Powerful kings have been over Jerusalem who ruled throughout the entire Trans-Euphrates[aw] and who were the beneficiaries of[ax] tribute, custom, and toll. 21 Now give orders that these men cease their work and that this city not be rebuilt until such time as I so instruct.[ay] 22 Exercise appropriate caution so that there is no negligence in this matter. Why should danger increase to the point that the king sustains damage?”

23 Then, as soon as the copy of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read in the presence of Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues, they proceeded promptly to the Jews in Jerusalem[az] and stopped them with threat of armed force.[ba]

24 So the work on the temple of God in Jerusalem came to a halt. It remained halted until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.[bb]

Footnotes

  1. Ezra 4:1 tn Heb “the sons of the exile.”
  2. Ezra 4:2 tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.” So also in v. 3.
  3. Ezra 4:2 tn Heb “Let us build with you.”
  4. Ezra 4:2 tc The translation reads with the Qere, a Qumran ms, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Arabic version וְלוֹ (velo, “and him”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, וְלֹא (veloʾ, “and not”).
  5. Ezra 4:2 tn Heb “days.”
  6. Ezra 4:2 sn Esarhaddon was king of Assyria ca. 681-669 b.c.
  7. Ezra 4:2 sn The Assyrian policy had been to resettle Samaria with peoples from other areas (cf. 2 Kgs 17:24-34). These immigrants acknowledged Yahweh as well as other deities in some cases. The Jews who returned from the Exile regarded them with suspicion and were not hospitable to their offer of help in rebuilding the temple.
  8. Ezra 4:3 tn Heb “not to you and to us.”
  9. Ezra 4:4 tn Heb “the people of the land.” Elsewhere this expression sometimes has a negative connotation, referring to a lay population that was less zealous for Judaism than it should have been. Here, however, it seems to refer to the resident population of the area without any negative connotation.
  10. Ezra 4:4 tn Heb “were making slack the hands of.”
  11. Ezra 4:5 tn Heb “all the days of.”
  12. Ezra 4:5 sn Darius ruled Persia ca. 522-486 b.c.
  13. Ezra 4:5 sn The purpose of the opening verses of this chapter is to summarize why the Jews returning from the exile were unable to complete the rebuilding of the temple more quickly than they did. The delay was due not to disinterest on their part but to the repeated obstacles that had been placed in their path by determined foes.
  14. Ezra 4:6 sn The chronological problems of Ezra 4:6-24 are well known and have been the subject of extensive discussion since ancient times. Both v. 5 and v. 24 describe the reign of Darius I Hystaspes, who ruled Persia ca. 522-486 b.c. and in whose time the rebuilt temple was finished. The material in between is from later times (v. 16 describes the rebuilding of the walls, not the temple), and so appear to be a digression. Even recognizing this, there are still questions, such as why Cambyses (530-522 b.c.) is not mentioned at all, and why events from the time of Xerxes (486-465 b.c.) and Artaxerxes (464-423 b.c.) are included here if the author was discussing opposition to the building of the temple, which was finished in 516 b.c. Theories to explain these difficulties are too numerous to mention here, but have existed since ancient times: Josephus, the first century Jewish historian, rearranged the account to put Cambyses before Xerxes and replacing Artaxerxes with Xerxes (for further discussion of Josephus’ rearrangement see L. L. Grabbe, “Josephus and the Reconstruction of the Judean Restoration” JBL 106 [1987]: 231-46). In brief, it seems best to view the author’s primary concern here as thematic (the theme of opposition to the Jewish resettlement in Jerusalem, including the rebuilding of the temple and restoration of Jerusalem’s walls) rather than purely chronological. In the previous verses the author had shown how the Jews had rejected an offer of assistance from surrounding peoples and how these people in turn harassed them. The inserted account shows how, in light of the unremitting opposition the Jews experienced (even extending down to more recent times), this refusal of help had been fully justified. Some of the documents the author employed show how this opposition continued even after the temple was rebuilt. (The failure to mention Cambyses may simply mean the author had no documents available from that period.) For detailed discussion of the difficulties presented by the passage and the various theories advanced to explain them, see H. G. M. Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah (WBC), 56-60.
  15. Ezra 4:6 sn Ahasuerus, otherwise known as Xerxes I, ruled ca. 486-464 b.c.
  16. Ezra 4:7 tn Heb “And in the days.”
  17. Ezra 4:7 tn The LXX understands this word as a prepositional phrase (“in peace”) rather than as a proper name (“Bishlam”). Taken this way it would suggest that Mithredath was “in agreement with” the contents of Tabeel’s letter. Some scholars regard the word in the MT to be a textual variation of an original “in Jerusalem” (i.e., “in the matter of Jerusalem”) or “in the name of Jerusalem.” The translation adopted above follows the traditional understanding of the word as a name.
  18. Ezra 4:7 tc The translation reads the plural with the Qere rather than the singular found in the MT Kethib.
  19. Ezra 4:7 sn Artaxerxes I ruled in Persia from ca. 465-425 b.c.
  20. Ezra 4:7 tc It is preferable to delete the MT’s וּכְתָב (ukhetav) here.
  21. Ezra 4:7 sn The double reference in v. 7 to the Aramaic language is difficult. It would not make sense to say that the letter was written in Aramaic and then translated into Aramaic. Some interpreters understand the verse to mean that the letter was written in the Aramaic script and in the Aramaic language, but this does not seem to give sufficient attention to the participle “translated” at the end of the verse. The second reference to Aramaic in the verse is more probably a gloss that calls attention to the fact that the following verses retain the Aramaic language of the letter in its original linguistic form. A similar reference to Aramaic occurs in Dan 2:4b, where the language of that book shifts from Hebrew to Aramaic. Ezra 4:8-6:18 and 7:12-26 are written in Aramaic, whereas the rest of the book is written in Hebrew.
  22. Ezra 4:8 tn Aram “lord of the command.” So also in vv. 9, 17.
  23. Ezra 4:8 sn Like Rehum, Shimshai was apparently a fairly high-ranking official charged with overseeing Persian interests in this part of the empire. His title was “scribe” or “secretary,” but in a more elevated political sense than that word sometimes has elsewhere. American governmental titles such as “Secretary of State” perhaps provide an analogy in that the word “secretary” can have a broad range of meaning.
  24. Ezra 4:8 tn Or perhaps “against.”
  25. Ezra 4:9 tn Aram “then.” What follows in v. 9 seems to be the preface of the letter, serving to identify the senders of the letter. The word “from” is not in the Aramaic text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  26. Ezra 4:9 tn For the Qere of the MT (דֶּהָיֵא, dehayeʾ, a proper name) it seems better to retain the Kethib דִּהוּא (dihuʾ, “that is”). See F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 25, §35; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 36.
  27. Ezra 4:10 tn Aram “Osnappar” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV), another name for Ashurbanipal.sn Ashurbanipal succeeded his father Esarhaddon as king of Assyria in 669 b.c. Around 645 b.c. he sacked the city of Susa, capital of Elam, and apparently some of these people were exiled to Samaria and other places.
  28. Ezra 4:10 tc The translation reads with the ancient versions the plural בְּקֻרְיַהּ (bequryah, “in the cities”) rather than the singular (“in the city”) of the MT.
  29. Ezra 4:10 tn Aram “beyond the river.” In Ezra this term is a technical designation for the region west of the Euphrates river.
  30. Ezra 4:11 tn The Masoretic accents indicate that the phrase “to Artaxerxes the king” goes with what precedes and that the letter begins with the words “from your servants.” But it seems better to understand the letter to begin by identifying the addressee.
  31. Ezra 4:11 tn Aram “men of.”
  32. Ezra 4:12 tn The MT takes this word with the latter part of v. 11, but in English style it fits better with v. 12.
  33. Ezra 4:12 sn Management of the provinces that were distantly removed from the capital was difficult, and insurrection in such places was a perennial problem. The language used in this report about Jerusalem (i.e., “rebellious,” “odious”) is intentionally inflammatory. It is calculated to draw immediate attention to the perceived problem.
  34. Ezra 4:13 tn Aram “the treasury of kings.” The plural “kings” is Hebrew, not Aramaic. If the plural is intended in a numerical sense the reference is not just to Artaxerxes but to his successors as well. Some scholars understand this to be the plural of majesty, referring to Artaxerxes. See F. C. Fensham, Ezra and Nehemiah (NICOT), 74.
  35. Ezra 4:14 tn Aram “we eat the salt of the palace.”
  36. Ezra 4:14 tn Aram “the dishonor of the king is not fitting for us to see.”
  37. Ezra 4:14 tn Aram “and we have made known.”
  38. Ezra 4:15 tn Aram “the book of the minutes.”
  39. Ezra 4:15 tn Aram “of your fathers.”
  40. Ezra 4:15 tn Aram “discover…and learn.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a single concept.
  41. Ezra 4:15 tn Aram “is a rebellious city.”
  42. Ezra 4:15 tn Aram “revolts they are making in its midst.”
  43. Ezra 4:15 tn Aram “from olden days.” So also in v. 19.
  44. Ezra 4:16 tn Aram “will not be to you.”
  45. Ezra 4:17 tn Aram “peace.”
  46. Ezra 4:19 tn Aram “from me was placed a decree.”
  47. Ezra 4:19 tn Aram “and they searched and found.”
  48. Ezra 4:19 tn Aram “are being done.”
  49. Ezra 4:20 sn The statement that prior Jewish kings ruled over the entire Trans-Euphrates is an overstatement. Not even in the days of David and Solomon did the kingdom of Israel extend its borders to such an extent.
  50. Ezra 4:20 tn Aram “were being given to them.”
  51. Ezra 4:21 tn Aram “until a command is issued from me.”
  52. Ezra 4:23 tn Aram “to Jerusalem against the Jews.”
  53. Ezra 4:23 tn Aram “by force and power,” a hendiadys.
  54. Ezra 4:24 sn Darius I Hystaspes ruled Persia ca. 522-486 b.c.
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