Ezra 4:6-16
Legacy Standard Bible
6 Now in the reign of [a](A)Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
7 And in the days of [b]Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his colleagues wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the [c]text of the letter was written in Aramaic and translated (B)from Aramaic.
The Letter to King Artaxerxes
8 [d]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 (C)the rest of their colleagues, the judges and (D)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 [e]Osnappar took away into exile and settled in the city of Samaria and in the rest of the region beyond the [f]River. (E)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 (F)the rebellious and evil city and (G)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, (H)they will not give tribute, custom, or toll, and it will damage the revenue of the kings.
14 Now because we [g]are in the service of the palace, and it is not fitting for us to see the king’s [h]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.”
Ezra 4:6-16
Christian Standard Bible
Opposition to Rebuilding the City
6 At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus,(A) the people who were already in the land(B) wrote an accusation against the residents of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 During the time of King Artaxerxes of Persia,(C) Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his colleagues wrote to King Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic(D) and translated.[a]
8 Rehum the chief deputy and Shimshai the scribe(E) wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes concerning Jerusalem as follows:
9 From Rehum[b] the chief deputy, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues—the judges and magistrates[c] from Tripolis, Persia, Erech, Babylon, Susa(F) (that is, the people of Elam),[d] 10 and the rest of the peoples whom the great and illustrious Ashurbanipal[e] deported and settled in the cities of Samaria(G) and the region west of the Euphrates River.(H)
11 This is the text of the letter they sent to him:
To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men from the region west of the Euphrates River:
12 Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you have returned to us at Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and evil city, finishing its walls, and repairing its foundations. 13 Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are finished,(I) they will not pay tribute, duty, or land tax,(J) and the royal revenue[f] will suffer. 14 Since we have taken an oath of loyalty to the king,[g] and it is not right for us to witness his dishonor, we have sent to inform the king 15 that a search should be made in your predecessors’ record books.(K) In these record books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces. There have been revolts in it since ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed. 16 We advise the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, you will not have any possession west of the Euphrates.
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