Ezra 4
Legacy Standard Bible
Adversaries Discourage the Work
4 Then (A)the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that (B)the people of the exile were building a temple to Yahweh, the God of Israel, 2 so they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ households and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; (C)and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of (D)Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.” 3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, “(E)You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to Yahweh, the God of Israel, (F)as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.”
4 So (G)the people of the land [a]discouraged the people of Judah and dismayed them from building, 5 and hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
6 Now in the reign of [b](H)Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
7 And in the days of [c]Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his colleagues wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the [d]text of the letter was written in Aramaic and translated (I)from Aramaic.
The Letter to King Artaxerxes
8 [e]Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes, as follows—
9 then wrote Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and (J)the rest of their colleagues, the judges and (K)the lesser governors, the officials, the secretaries, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites,
10 and the rest of the nations, which the great and honorable [f]Osnappar took away into exile and settled in the city of Samaria and in the rest of the region beyond the [g]River. (L)And now—
11 this is the copy of the letter which they sent to him:
“To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the men in the region beyond the River, and now—
12 let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem; they are rebuilding (M)the rebellious and evil city and (N)are completing the walls and repairing the foundations.
13 Now let it be known to the king, that if that city is rebuilt and the walls are completed, (O)they will not give tribute, custom, or toll, and it will damage the revenue of the kings.
14 Now because we [h]are in the service of the palace, and it is not fitting for us to see the king’s [i]dishonor, therefore we have sent and made known to the king,
15 that a search be made in the record books of your fathers. And you will find in the record books and come to know that that city is a rebellious city and damaging to kings and provinces, and that they have incited revolt within it in past days; therefore that city was laid waste.
16 We make known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and the walls completed, as a result you will have no portion in the province beyond the River.”
A Decree Makes the Men Stop Rebuilding
17 Then the king sent an edict to Rehum the commander, to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and in the rest of the provinces beyond the River: “Peace. And now— 18 the document which you sent to us has been (P)plainly read before me.
19 So a decree has been [j]issued by me, and a search has been made and it has been found that that city has lifted itself up against the kings in past days, that rebellion and revolt have been perpetrated in it,
20 (Q)that strong kings have been over Jerusalem, even rulers in all the provinces (R)beyond the River, and that (S)tribute, custom, and toll were given to them.
21 Now issue a decree to make those men stop, that this city may not be rebuilt until a decree is issued by me.
22 And beware of being negligent in doing this matter; why should harm increase to damage the kings?”
23 Then as soon as the copy of King Artaxerxes’ document was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their colleagues, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews and stopped them by force and military.
24 Then the work on the house of God in Jerusalem stopped, and it was stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Footnotes
Ezra 4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Resistance to Rebuilding the Temple
4 When the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel,(A) 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of families 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 since the days of King Esar-haddon of Assyria, who brought us here.”(B) 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of families in Israel said to them, “You shall have no part with us in building a house for our God, but we alone will build for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus of Persia has commanded us.”(C)
4 Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build,(D) 5 and they bribed officials to frustrate their plan throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia and until the reign of King Darius of Persia.
Rebuilding of Jerusalem Opposed
6 In the reign of Ahasuerus, in his accession year, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.(E)
7 And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to King Artaxerxes of Persia; the letter was written in Aramaic and translated.[a](F) 8 Rehum the royal deputy and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows 9 (then Rehum the royal deputy, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the envoys, the officials, the Persians, the people of Erech, the Babylonians, the people of Susa, that is, the Elamites, 10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River wrote—and now(G) 11 this is a copy of the letter that they sent):
“To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the people of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now 12 may it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city; they are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations.(H) 13 Now may it be known to the king that, if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be reduced.(I) 14 Now because we share the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king’s dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king, 15 so that a search may be made in the annals of your ancestors. You will discover in the annals that this is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from long ago. On that account this city was laid waste. 16 We make known to the king that, if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.”
17 The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the royal deputy and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now 18 the letter that you sent to us has been read in translation before me.(J) 19 So I made a decree, and someone searched and discovered that this city has risen against kings from long ago and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it. 20 Jerusalem has had mighty kings who ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom tribute, custom, and toll were paid.(K) 21 Therefore issue an order that these people be made to cease and that this city not be rebuilt, until I make a decree. 22 Moreover, take care not to be slack in this matter; why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?”
23 Then when the copy of King Artaxerxes’s letter was read before Rehum and the scribe Shimshai and their associates, they hurried to the Jews in Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease. 24 At that time the work on the house of God in Jerusalem stopped and was discontinued until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.