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Resistance to Rebuilding the House of God

Now the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles[a] were building a temple for Yahweh the God of Israel. And they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the families,[b] and they said to them, “Let us build with you. Like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him from the days of Esarhaddon the king of Assyria who brought us up here. But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of the families[c] of Israel said to them, “It is not for you but for us to build a house for our God. For we ourselves alone will build it for Yahweh the God of Israel, just as Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah[d] and made them afraid to build and bribed officials against them to frustrate their plan for all the days of Cyrus king of Persia until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 4:1 Literally “the sons of the exile”
  2. Ezra 4:2 Literally “fathers”
  3. Ezra 4:3 Literally “fathers”
  4. Ezra 4:4 Literally “the hands of the people of Judah”

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity were building a temple unto Jehovah, the God of Israel; then they drew near to Zerubbabel, and to the heads of fathers’ houses, and said unto them, Let us build with you; for we seek your God, as ye do; [a]and we sacrifice unto him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assyria, who brought us up hither. But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us in building a house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us. Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and [b]troubled them in building, and hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 4:2 Another reading is, yet we do not sacrifice since etc.
  2. Ezra 4:4 Or, terrified