Ezra 4
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.
6 And in the reign of (H)Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
The Letter to King Artaxerxes
7 In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and (I)Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written (J)in Aramaic and translated.[a] 8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows: 9 Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the (K)judges, the (L)governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the (M)Elamites, 10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble (N)Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River. 11 (This is a copy of the letter that they sent.) “To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now 12 be it 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 (O)finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 13 Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay (P)tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired. 14 Now because we eat the salt of the palace[b] and it is not fitting for us to witness the king's dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king, 15 in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why 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.”
The King Orders the Work to Cease
17 The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the commander 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 (Q)plainly read before me. 19 And I made a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it. 20 And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, (R)who ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom (S)tribute, custom, and toll were paid. 21 Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me. 22 And 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' letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease. 24 Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Ezra 4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 4
Outside Interference. 1 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 (A)they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of ancestral houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God just as you do, and we have sacrificed to him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria,[a] who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of ancestral houses of Israel answered them, “It is not your responsibility to build with us a house for our God, but we alone must build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as Cyrus king of Persia has commanded us.” 4 Thereupon the local inhabitants[b] discouraged the people of Judah and frightened them off from building. 5 They also bribed counselors to work against them and to frustrate their plans during all the years of Cyrus, king of Persia, and even into the reign of Darius,[c] king of Persia.
Later Hostility. 6 In the reign of Ahasuerus,[d] at the beginning of his reign, they prepared a written accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
7 [e]Again, in the time of Artaxerxes, Tabeel and the rest of his fellow officials, in concert with Mithredath, wrote to Artaxerxes, king of Persia. The document was written in Aramaic and was accompanied by a translation.
8 [f]Then Rehum, the governor, and Shimshai, the scribe, wrote the following letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes: 9 “Rehum, the governor, Shimshai, the scribe, and their fellow officials, judges, legates, and agents from among the Persians, Urukians, Babylonians, Susians (that is, Elamites), 10 and the other peoples whom the great and illustrious Osnappar[g] transported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in the province West-of-Euphrates, as follows….” 11 This is a copy of the letter that they sent to him:
“To King Artaxerxes, your servants, the men of West-of-Euphrates, as follows: 12 Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have arrived at Jerusalem and are now rebuilding this rebellious and evil city. They are completing its walls, and the foundations have already been laid. 13 Now let it be known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls completed, they will no longer pay taxes, tributes, or tolls; eventually the throne will be harmed. 14 Now, since we eat the salt of the palace[h] and it is not fitting for us to look on while the king is being dishonored, we have sent this message to inform the king, 15 so that inquiry may be made in the historical records of your fathers. In the historical records you will discover and verify that this is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces; its people have been acting seditiously there since ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed. 16 We therefore inform the king, that if this city is rebuilt and its walls completed again, you will thereupon not have a portion in the province West-of-Euphrates.”
17 The king sent this answer: “To Rehum, the governor, Shimshai, the scribe, and their fellow officials living in Samaria and elsewhere in the province West-of-Euphrates, greetings: 18 The communication which you sent us has been read in translation in my presence. 19 When at my command inquiry was made, it was verified that from ancient times this city has risen up against kings and that rebellion and sedition have been fostered there. 20 Powerful kings once ruled in Jerusalem who controlled all West-of-Euphrates, and taxes, tributes, and tolls were paid to them. 21 Give orders, therefore, to stop these men. This city may not be rebuilt until a further decree has been issued by me. 22 Take care that you do not neglect this matter. Why should evil increase to harm the throne?”
23 (B)As soon as a copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter had been read before Rehum, the governor, Shimshai, the scribe, and their fellow officials, they immediately went to the Jews in Jerusalem and stopped their work by force of arms. 24 As a result, work on the house of God in Jerusalem ceased. This interruption lasted until the second year of the reign of Darius,[i] king of Persia.
Footnotes
- 4:2 Esarhaddon, king of Assyria: the enemies represent themselves as descendants of foreigners forcibly resettled in the Samaria region after the incorporation of the Northern Kingdom into the Assyrian empire (722 B.C.; cf. 2 Kgs 17:24). We have no record of a settlement under Esarhaddon (681–669 B.C.); the Aramaic source (Ezr 4:10) refers to a different resettlement under Osnappar/Ashurbanipal (668–627 B.C.).
- 4:4 Local inhabitants: lit., “the people of the land.”
- 4:5 Darius: Darius I (522–486 B.C.). The Temple-building narrative continues in v. 24. In between (vv. 6–23) is a series of notices about opposition to the returned exiles voiced at the Persian court in the early fifth century B.C., after the Temple had been built.
- 4:6 Ahasuerus: Xerxes (486–465 B.C.); the early years of his reign were occupied with revolts in several parts of the empire.
- 4:7 There is a note placed in the original text to indicate a change from Hebrew to Aramaic. The Aramaic section beginning here ends with 6:18; in 7:12–26 a royal letter is cited in Aramaic.
- 4:8–23 The letter to Artaxerxes I (465–424 B.C.) deals with the building of the fortification walls of Jerusalem, not the building of the Temple. The interruption of the work on the city wall some time before 445 B.C. was the occasion for the arrival of Nehemiah in the province (Neh 1:1–4; 2:1–5).
- 4:10 Osnappar: probably Ashurbanipal; see note on 4:2.
- 4:14 Eat the salt of the palace: the idiom signifies sharing in the benefits of the palace.
- 4:24 The second year…of Darius: that is, 520 B.C.; it marks the beginning of the successful restoration of the Temple, completed within the five years following (5:1–6:18).
Ezra 4
New King James Version
Resistance to Rebuilding the Temple
4 Now when (A)the [a]adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the Lord God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him (B)since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, (C)“You may do nothing with us to build a [b]house for our God; but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as (D)King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” 4 Then (E)the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, 5 and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of (F)Darius king of Persia.
Rebuilding of Jerusalem Opposed
6 In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
7 In the days of (G)Artaxerxes also, [c]Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabel, and the rest of their companions wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the letter was written in (H)Aramaic script, and translated into the Aramaic language. 8 [d]Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes in this fashion:
9 [e]From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions—representatives of (I)the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the people of Persia and Erech and Babylon and [f]Shushan, the Dehavites, the Elamites, 10 (J)and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnapper took captive and settled in the cities of Samaria and the remainder beyond [g]the River—(K)and[h] so forth.
11 (This is a copy of the letter that they sent him.)
To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men of the region beyond the River, [i]and so forth:
12 Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem, and are building the (L)rebellious and evil city, and are finishing its (M)walls and repairing the foundations. 13 Let it now be known to the king that, if this city is built and the walls completed, they will not pay (N)tax, tribute, or custom, and the king’s treasury will be diminished. 14 Now because we receive support from the palace, it was not proper for us to see the king’s dishonor; therefore we have sent and informed the king, 15 that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. And you will find in the book of the records and know that this city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, and that they have incited sedition within the city in former times, for which cause this city was destroyed.
16 We inform the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, the result will be that you will have no dominion beyond the River.
17 The king sent an answer:
To Rehum the commander, to Shimshai the scribe, to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria, and to the remainder beyond the River:
Peace, [j]and so forth.
18 The letter which you sent to us has been clearly read before me. 19 And [k]I gave the command, and a search has been made, and it was found that this city in former times has revolted against kings, and rebellion and sedition have been fostered in it. 20 There have also been mighty kings over Jerusalem, who have (O)ruled over all the region (P)beyond the River; and tax, tribute, and custom were paid to them. 21 Now [l]give the command to make these men cease, that this city may not be built until the command is given by me.
22 Take heed now that you do not fail to do this. Why should damage increase to the hurt of the kings?
23 Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem against the Jews, and by force of arms made them cease. 24 Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Footnotes
- Ezra 4:1 enemies
- Ezra 4:3 Temple
- Ezra 4:7 Or in peace
- Ezra 4:8 The original language of Ezra 4:8 through 6:18 is Aramaic.
- Ezra 4:9 Lit. Then
- Ezra 4:9 Or Susa
- Ezra 4:10 The Euphrates
- Ezra 4:10 Lit. and now
- Ezra 4:11 Lit. and now
- Ezra 4:17 Lit. and now
- Ezra 4:19 Lit. by me a decree has been put forth
- Ezra 4:21 put forth a decree
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