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Ezra 4:1-5
English Standard Version
Ezra 4:1-5
English Standard Version
Adversaries Oppose the Rebuilding
4 Now when (A)the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever (B)since the days of (C)Esarhaddon king of Assyria (D)who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers' houses in Israel said to them, (E)“You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, (F)as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”
4 Then (G)the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build 5 and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
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Ezra 4:1-5
Christian Standard Bible
Ezra 4:1-5
Christian Standard Bible
Opposition to Rebuilding the Temple
4 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin(A) heard that the returned exiles[a](B) were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they 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[b] since the time King Esar-haddon of Assyria brought us here.”(C)
3 But 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,(D) since we alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.”(E) 4 Then the people who were already in the land[c] discouraged[d] the people of Judah and made them afraid(F) to build. 5 They also bribed officials to act against them to frustrate their plans(G) throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia and until the reign of King Darius of Persia.(H)
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Ezra 4:1-5
New International Version
Ezra 4:1-5
New International Version
Opposition to the Rebuilding
4 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building(A) a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon(B) king of Assyria, who brought us here.”(C)
3 But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.”(D)
4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.[a](E) 5 They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Footnotes
- Ezra 4:4 Or and troubled them as they built
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.