Ezra 4:6-16
New American 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 [e]Rehum the commander, 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 [f]Osnappar deported and settled in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the region beyond the Euphrates River. (E)And now 11 this is a copy of the letter which they sent to him:
“To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the men of the region beyond the Euphrates 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 finishing 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 finished, (H)they will not pay tribute, custom tax, or toll, and it will [g]be detrimental to 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 shame, for this reason we have sent word and informed the king, 15 so that a search may be conducted in the record books of your fathers. And you will discover in the record books and learn that that city is a rebellious city and detrimental to kings and provinces, and that they have revolted within it in past days; for this reason that city was laid waste. 16 We are informing the king that if that city is rebuilt and the walls finished, then as a result of this you will have no possession in the province beyond the Euphrates River.”
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Ezra 4:6-16
New King James Version
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 (A)Artaxerxes also, [a]Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabel, and the rest of their companions wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the letter was written in (B)Aramaic script, and translated into the Aramaic language. 8 [b]Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes in this fashion:
9 [c]From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions—representatives of (C)the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the people of Persia and Erech and Babylon and [d]Shushan, the Dehavites, the Elamites, 10 (D)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 [e]the River—(E)and[f] 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, [g]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 (F)rebellious and evil city, and are finishing its (G)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 (H)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.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
