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Ezra 4
New English Translation

Opposition to the Building Efforts

4 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin learned that the former exiles[a] were building a temple for the Lord God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders[b] and said to them, “Let us help you build,[c] for like you we seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him[d] from the time[e] of King Esarhaddon[f] of Assyria, who brought us here.”[g] 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them, “You have no right[h] to help us build the temple of our God. We will build it by ourselves for the Lord God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.” 4 Then the local people[i] began to discourage[j] the people of Judah and to dishearten them from building. 5 They were hiring advisers to oppose them, so as to frustrate their plans, throughout the time[k] of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius[l] of Persia.[m]

Official Complaints Are Lodged Against the Jews

6 [n] At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus[o] they filed an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 And during the reign[p] of Artaxerxes, Bishlam,[q] Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their colleagues[r] wrote to King Artaxerxes[s] of Persia. This letter[t] was first written in Aramaic but then translated.

[What follows is in Aramaic][u]

8 Rehum the commander[v] and Shimshai the scribe[w] wrote a letter concerning[x] Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows: 9 From[y] Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues—the judges, the rulers, the officials, the secretaries, the Erechites, the Babylonians, the people of Susa (that is,[z] the Elamites), 10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal[aa] deported and settled in the cities[ab] of Samaria and other places in Trans-Euphrates.[ac] 11 (This is a copy of the letter they sent to him.)

“To King Artaxerxes,[ad] from your servants in[ae] Trans-Euphrates: 12 Now[af] let the king be aware that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and odious city.[ag] They are completing its walls and repairing its foundations. 13 Let the king also be aware that if this city is built and its walls are completed, no more tax, custom, or toll will be paid, and the royal treasury[ah] will suffer loss. 14 In light of the fact that we are loyal to the king,[ai] and since it does not seem appropriate to us that the king should sustain damage,[aj] we are sending the king this information[ak] 15 so that he may initiate a search of the records[al] of his predecessors[am] and discover in those records[an] that this city is rebellious[ao] and injurious to both kings and provinces, producing internal revolts[ap] from long ago.[aq] It is for this very reason that this city was destroyed. 16 We therefore are informing the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, you will not retain control[ar] of this portion of Trans-Euphrates.”

17 The king sent the following response:

“To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and other parts of Trans-Euphrates: Greetings![as] 18 The letter you sent to us has been translated and read in my presence. 19 So I gave orders,[at] and it was determined[au] that this city from long ago has been engaging in insurrection against kings. It has continually engaged in[av] rebellion and revolt. 20 Powerful kings have been over Jerusalem who ruled throughout the entire Trans-Euphrates[aw] and who were the beneficiaries of[ax] tribute, custom, and toll. 21 Now give orders that these men cease their work and that this city not be rebuilt until such time as I so instruct.[ay] 22 Exercise appropriate caution so that there is no negligence in this matter. Why should danger increase to the point that the king sustains damage?”

23 Then, as soon as the copy of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read in the presence of Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues, they proceeded promptly to the Jews in Jerusalem[az] and stopped them with threat of armed force.[ba]

24 So the work on the temple of God in Jerusalem came to a halt. It remained halted until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.[bb]

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 4:1 tn Heb “the sons of the exile.”
  2. Ezra 4:2 tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.” So also in v. 3.
  3. Ezra 4:2 tn Heb “Let us build with you.”
  4. Ezra 4:2 tc The translation reads with the Qere, a Qumran ms, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Arabic version וְלוֹ (velo, “and him”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, וְלֹא (veloʾ, “and not”).
  5. Ezra 4:2 tn Heb “days.”
  6. Ezra 4:2 sn Esarhaddon was king of Assyria ca. 681-669 b.c.
  7. Ezra 4:2 sn The Assyrian policy had been to resettle Samaria with peoples from other areas (cf. 2 Kgs 17:24-34). These immigrants acknowledged Yahweh as well as other deities in some cases. The Jews who returned from the Exile regarded them with suspicion and were not hospitable to their offer of help in rebuilding the temple.
  8. Ezra 4:3 tn Heb “not to you and to us.”
  9. Ezra 4:4 tn Heb “the people of the land.” Elsewhere this expression sometimes has a negative connotation, referring to a lay population that was less zealous for Judaism than it should have been. Here, however, it seems to refer to the resident population of the area without any negative connotation.
  10. Ezra 4:4 tn Heb “were making slack the hands of.”
  11. Ezra 4:5 tn Heb “all the days of.”
  12. Ezra 4:5 sn Darius ruled Persia ca. 522-486 b.c.
  13. Ezra 4:5 sn The purpose of the opening verses of this chapter is to summarize why the Jews returning from the exile were unable to complete the rebuilding of the temple more quickly than they did. The delay was due not to disinterest on their part but to the repeated obstacles that had been placed in their path by determined foes.
  14. Ezra 4:6 sn The chronological problems of Ezra 4:6-24 are well known and have been the subject of extensive discussion since ancient times. Both v. 5 and v. 24 describe the reign of Darius I Hystaspes, who ruled Persia ca. 522-486 b.c. and in whose time the rebuilt temple was finished. The material in between is from later times (v. 16 describes the rebuilding of the walls, not the temple), and so appear to be a digression. Even recognizing this, there are still questions, such as why Cambyses (530-522 b.c.) is not mentioned at all, and why events from the time of Xerxes (486-465 b.c.) and Artaxerxes (464-423 b.c.) are included here if the author was discussing opposition to the building of the temple, which was finished in 516 b.c. Theories to explain these difficulties are too numerous to mention here, but have existed since ancient times: Josephus, the first century Jewish historian, rearranged the account to put Cambyses before Xerxes and replacing Artaxerxes with Xerxes (for further discussion of Josephus’ rearrangement see L. L. Grabbe, “Josephus and the Reconstruction of the Judean Restoration” JBL 106 [1987]: 231-46). In brief, it seems best to view the author’s primary concern here as thematic (the theme of opposition to the Jewish resettlement in Jerusalem, including the rebuilding of the temple and restoration of Jerusalem’s walls) rather than purely chronological. In the previous verses the author had shown how the Jews had rejected an offer of assistance from surrounding peoples and how these people in turn harassed them. The inserted account shows how, in light of the unremitting opposition the Jews experienced (even extending down to more recent times), this refusal of help had been fully justified. Some of the documents the author employed show how this opposition continued even after the temple was rebuilt. (The failure to mention Cambyses may simply mean the author had no documents available from that period.) For detailed discussion of the difficulties presented by the passage and the various theories advanced to explain them, see H. G. M. Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah (WBC), 56-60.
  15. Ezra 4:6 sn Ahasuerus, otherwise known as Xerxes I, ruled ca. 486-464 b.c.
  16. Ezra 4:7 tn Heb “And in the days.”
  17. Ezra 4:7 tn The LXX understands this word as a prepositional phrase (“in peace”) rather than as a proper name (“Bishlam”). Taken this way it would suggest that Mithredath was “in agreement with” the contents of Tabeel’s letter. Some scholars regard the word in the MT to be a textual variation of an original “in Jerusalem” (i.e., “in the matter of Jerusalem”) or “in the name of Jerusalem.” The translation adopted above follows the traditional understanding of the word as a name.
  18. Ezra 4:7 tc The translation reads the plural with the Qere rather than the singular found in the MT Kethib.
  19. Ezra 4:7 sn Artaxerxes I ruled in Persia from ca. 465-425 b.c.
  20. Ezra 4:7 tc It is preferable to delete the MT’s וּכְתָב (ukhetav) here.
  21. Ezra 4:7 sn The double reference in v. 7 to the Aramaic language is difficult. It would not make sense to say that the letter was written in Aramaic and then translated into Aramaic. Some interpreters understand the verse to mean that the letter was written in the Aramaic script and in the Aramaic language, but this does not seem to give sufficient attention to the participle “translated” at the end of the verse. The second reference to Aramaic in the verse is more probably a gloss that calls attention to the fact that the following verses retain the Aramaic language of the letter in its original linguistic form. A similar reference to Aramaic occurs in Dan 2:4b, where the language of that book shifts from Hebrew to Aramaic. Ezra 4:8-6:18 and 7:12-26 are written in Aramaic, whereas the rest of the book is written in Hebrew.
  22. Ezra 4:8 tn Aram “lord of the command.” So also in vv. 9, 17.
  23. Ezra 4:8 sn Like Rehum, Shimshai was apparently a fairly high-ranking official charged with overseeing Persian interests in this part of the empire. His title was “scribe” or “secretary,” but in a more elevated political sense than that word sometimes has elsewhere. American governmental titles such as “Secretary of State” perhaps provide an analogy in that the word “secretary” can have a broad range of meaning.
  24. Ezra 4:8 tn Or perhaps “against.”
  25. Ezra 4:9 tn Aram “then.” What follows in v. 9 seems to be the preface of the letter, serving to identify the senders of the letter. The word “from” is not in the Aramaic text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  26. Ezra 4:9 tn For the Qere of the MT (דֶּהָיֵא, dehayeʾ, a proper name) it seems better to retain the Kethib דִּהוּא (dihuʾ, “that is”). See F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 25, §35; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 36.
  27. Ezra 4:10 tn Aram “Osnappar” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV), another name for Ashurbanipal.sn Ashurbanipal succeeded his father Esarhaddon as king of Assyria in 669 b.c. Around 645 b.c. he sacked the city of Susa, capital of Elam, and apparently some of these people were exiled to Samaria and other places.
  28. Ezra 4:10 tc The translation reads with the ancient versions the plural בְּקֻרְיַהּ (bequryah, “in the cities”) rather than the singular (“in the city”) of the MT.
  29. Ezra 4:10 tn Aram “beyond the river.” In Ezra this term is a technical designation for the region west of the Euphrates river.
  30. Ezra 4:11 tn The Masoretic accents indicate that the phrase “to Artaxerxes the king” goes with what precedes and that the letter begins with the words “from your servants.” But it seems better to understand the letter to begin by identifying the addressee.
  31. Ezra 4:11 tn Aram “men of.”
  32. Ezra 4:12 tn The MT takes this word with the latter part of v. 11, but in English style it fits better with v. 12.
  33. Ezra 4:12 sn Management of the provinces that were distantly removed from the capital was difficult, and insurrection in such places was a perennial problem. The language used in this report about Jerusalem (i.e., “rebellious,” “odious”) is intentionally inflammatory. It is calculated to draw immediate attention to the perceived problem.
  34. Ezra 4:13 tn Aram “the treasury of kings.” The plural “kings” is Hebrew, not Aramaic. If the plural is intended in a numerical sense the reference is not just to Artaxerxes but to his successors as well. Some scholars understand this to be the plural of majesty, referring to Artaxerxes. See F. C. Fensham, Ezra and Nehemiah (NICOT), 74.
  35. Ezra 4:14 tn Aram “we eat the salt of the palace.”
  36. Ezra 4:14 tn Aram “the dishonor of the king is not fitting for us to see.”
  37. Ezra 4:14 tn Aram “and we have made known.”
  38. Ezra 4:15 tn Aram “the book of the minutes.”
  39. Ezra 4:15 tn Aram “of your fathers.”
  40. Ezra 4:15 tn Aram “discover…and learn.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a single concept.
  41. Ezra 4:15 tn Aram “is a rebellious city.”
  42. Ezra 4:15 tn Aram “revolts they are making in its midst.”
  43. Ezra 4:15 tn Aram “from olden days.” So also in v. 19.
  44. Ezra 4:16 tn Aram “will not be to you.”
  45. Ezra 4:17 tn Aram “peace.”
  46. Ezra 4:19 tn Aram “from me was placed a decree.”
  47. Ezra 4:19 tn Aram “and they searched and found.”
  48. Ezra 4:19 tn Aram “are being done.”
  49. Ezra 4:20 sn The statement that prior Jewish kings ruled over the entire Trans-Euphrates is an overstatement. Not even in the days of David and Solomon did the kingdom of Israel extend its borders to such an extent.
  50. Ezra 4:20 tn Aram “were being given to them.”
  51. Ezra 4:21 tn Aram “until a command is issued from me.”
  52. Ezra 4:23 tn Aram “to Jerusalem against the Jews.”
  53. Ezra 4:23 tn Aram “by force and power,” a hendiadys.
  54. Ezra 4:24 sn Darius I Hystaspes ruled Persia ca. 522-486 b.c.
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Nehemiah 4
New English Translation

Opposition to the Work Continues

4 (3:33)[a] Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall he became angry and was quite upset. He derided the Jews, 2 and in the presence of his colleagues[b] and the army of Samaria he said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they be left to themselves?[c] Will they again offer sacrifice? Will they finish this in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones to life again from piles of dust?”

3 Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was close by, said, “If even a fox were to climb up on what they are building, it would break down their wall of stones!”

4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Return their reproach on their own head. Reduce them to plunder in a land of exile! 5 Do not cover their iniquity, and do not wipe out their sin from your sight, for they have bitterly offended[d] the builders.[e]

6 So we rebuilt the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height.[f] The people were enthusiastic in their work.[g]

7 (4:1)[h] When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod heard that the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem had moved ahead and that the breaches had begun to be closed, they were very angry. 8 All of them conspired together to move with armed forces[i] against Jerusalem and to create a disturbance in it. 9 So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard to protect against them[j] both day and night. 10 Then those in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers[k] has failed! The debris is so great that we are unable to rebuild the wall.”

11 Our adversaries also boasted,[l] “Before they are aware or anticipate[m] anything, we will come in among them and kill them, and we will bring this work to a halt!”

12 So it happened that the Jews who were living near them came and warned us repeatedly[n] about all the schemes[o] they were plotting[p] against us.

13 So I stationed people at the lower places behind the wall in the exposed places.[q] I stationed the people by families, with their swords, spears, and bows. 14 When I had made an inspection,[r] I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the great and awesome Lord,[s] and fight on behalf of your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your families!”[t]

15 It so happened that when our adversaries heard that we were aware of these matters,[u] God frustrated their intentions. Then all of us returned to the wall, each to his own work. 16 From that day forward, half my men were doing the work and half were taking up spears,[v] shields, bows, and body armor. Now the officers were behind all the people[w] of Judah 17 who were rebuilding the wall.[x] Those who were carrying loads did so[y] by keeping one hand on the work and the other on their weapon. 18 The builders, to a man, had their swords strapped to their sides while they were building. But the trumpeter[z] remained with me.

19 I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is demanding[aa] and extensive, and we are spread out on the wall, far removed from one another. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, gather there with us. Our God will fight for us!”

21 So we worked on,[ab] with half[ac] holding spears, from dawn till dusk.[ad] 22 At that time I instructed[ae] the people, “Let every man and his coworker spend the night in Jerusalem and let them be guards for us by night and workers by day.” 23 We did not change clothes[af]—not I, nor my relatives, nor my workers, nor the watchmen who were with me. Each had his weapon, even when getting a drink of water.[ag]

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Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 4:1 sn Beginning with 4:1, the verse numbers through 4:23 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 4:1 ET = 3:33 HT, 4:2 ET = 3:34 HT, 4:3 ET = 3:35 HT, 4:4 ET = 3:36 HT, 4:5 ET = 3:37 HT, 4:6 ET = 3:38 HT, 4:7 ET = 4:1 HT, etc., through 4:23 ET = 4:17 HT. Thus in the Hebrew Bible chap. 3 of the Book of Nehemiah has 38 verses, while chap. 4 has only 17 verses.
  2. Nehemiah 4:2 tn Heb “brothers.”
  3. Nehemiah 4:2 tc The present translation follows the MT, but the Hebrew text is difficult. H. G. M. Williamson (Ezra, Nehemiah [WBC], 213-14) translates these words as “Will they commit their cause to God?” suggesting that MT לָהֶם (lahem, “to them”) should be emended to לֵאלֹהִים (leʾlohim, “to God”), a proposal also found in the apparatus of BHS. In his view later scribes altered the phrase out of theological motivations. J. Blenkinsopp’s translation is similar: “Are they going to leave it all to God?” (Ezra—Nehemiah [OTL], 242-44). However, a problem for this view is the absence of external evidence to support the proposed emendation. The sense of the MT reading may be the notion that the workers—if left to their own limited resources—could not possibly see such a demanding and expensive project through to completion. This interpretation understands the collocation עָזַב (ʿazav, “to leave”) plus ל (lamed, “to”) to mean “commit a matter to someone,” with the sense in this verse “Will they leave the building of the fortified walls to themselves?”
  4. Nehemiah 4:5 tn The Hiphil stem of כָּעַס (kaʿas) may mean: (1) “to provoke to anger”; (2) “to bitterly offend”; or (3) “to grieve” (BDB 495 s.v. Hiph.; HALOT 491 s.v. כעס hif). The Hebrew lexicons suggest that “bitterly offend” is the most appropriate nuance here.
  5. Nehemiah 4:5 tn Heb “before the builders.” The preposition נֶגֶד (neged, “before”) here connotes “in the sight of” or “in the view of” (BDB 617 s.v. 1.a; HALOT 666 s.v. 1.a).
  6. Nehemiah 4:6 tn Heb “up to its half.”
  7. Nehemiah 4:6 tn Heb “the people had a heart to work.”
  8. Nehemiah 4:7 sn Chapter 4 begins here in the Hebrew text (BHS). See the note at 4:1.
  9. Nehemiah 4:8 tn Heb “to fight.”
  10. Nehemiah 4:9 tn Heb “against them.” The words “to protect” are added in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness. Some emend MT עֲלֵיהֶם (ʿalehem, “against them”) to עָלֶיהָ (ʿaleha, “against it,” i.e., Jerusalem).
  11. Nehemiah 4:10 tn Heb “burden-bearers.”
  12. Nehemiah 4:11 tn Heb “said.”
  13. Nehemiah 4:11 tn Heb “see.”
  14. Nehemiah 4:12 tn Heb “ten times.”
  15. Nehemiah 4:12 tc The MT reads the anomalous מִכָּל־הַמְּקֹמוֹת (mikkol hammeqomot, “from every place”) but the BHS editors propose כָּל־הַמְּזִמּוֹת (kol hammezimmot, “about every scheme”). The initial mem (מ) found in the MT may have been added accidentally due to dittography with the final mem (ם) on the immediately preceding word, and the MT qof (ק) may have arisen due to orthographic confusion with the similar looking zayin (ז). The emendation restores sense to the line in the MT, which makes little sense and features an abrupt change of referents: “Wherever you turn, they will be upon us!” The threat was not against the villagers living nearby but against those repairing the wall, as the following context indicates. See also the following note on the word “plotting.”
  16. Nehemiah 4:12 tc The MT reads תָּשׁוּבוּ (tashuvu, “you turn”) which is awkward contextually. The BHS editors propose emending to חָשְׁבוּ (hashevu, “they were plotting”) which harmonizes well with the context. This emendation involves mere orthographic confusion between similar looking ח (khet) and ת (tav), and the resultant dittography of middle ו (vav) in MT. See also the preceding note on the word “schemes.”
  17. Nehemiah 4:13 tc The MT preserves the anomalous Kethib form צְחִחִיִּים (tsekhikhiyyim); the Qere reads צְחִיחִים (tsekhikhim) which is preferred (BDB 850 s.v. צָהִיחַ; HALOT 1018 s.v. *צָהִיחַ).tn The meaning of the Hebrew term צְחִיחִים (tsekhikhim) here is uncertain. Elsewhere (Ezek 24:7, 8; 26:4, 14) it refers to a shining or glaring surface of a rock (BDB 850 s.v. צָהִיחַ; HALOT 1018 s.v. *צָהִיחַ), but here it refers to an exposed or vulnerable portion of the wall: “open positions of the wall” (HALOT 1018 s.v. 2).
  18. Nehemiah 4:14 tn Heb “And I saw.”
  19. Nehemiah 4:14 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
  20. Nehemiah 4:14 tn Heb “houses.”
  21. Nehemiah 4:15 tn Heb “it was known to us.”
  22. Nehemiah 4:16 tc The MT reads “and spears.” The conjunction should be deleted.
  23. Nehemiah 4:16 tn Heb “all the house.”
  24. Nehemiah 4:17 tn The first words of v. 17, “who were rebuilding the wall,” should be taken with the latter part of v. 16.
  25. Nehemiah 4:17 tn Heb “were carrying loads.” The LXX reads ἐν ὅπλοις (en hoplois, “with weapons”).
  26. Nehemiah 4:18 tn Heb “the one blowing the shofar.”
  27. Nehemiah 4:19 tn Heb “much.”
  28. Nehemiah 4:21 tn Heb “and we were doing the work.”
  29. Nehemiah 4:21 tn Heb “half of them.”
  30. Nehemiah 4:21 tn Heb “from the coming up of the dawn till the coming forth of the stars.”
  31. Nehemiah 4:22 tn Heb “said [to].”
  32. Nehemiah 4:23 tn Heb “strip off our garments.”
  33. Nehemiah 4:23 tc Heb “a man, his weapon, the waters.” The MT, if in fact it is correct, is elliptical and difficult. Some scholars emend the MT reading הַמָּיִם (hammayim, “the waters”) to בִּמִנוֹ (bimino, “in his right hand”; cf. NAB, NRSV) or מִינוּ(י)הֵ (heminu, “they held on the right side”).
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