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Ezra 3-4
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Ezra 3-4
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Sacrifice Restored
3 By the seventh month,(A) the Israelites had settled in their towns, and the people gathered together in Jerusalem.(B) 2 Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel(C) and his brothers began to build the altar of Israel’s God in order to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God.(D) 3 They set up the altar on its foundation and offered burnt offerings for the morning and evening on it to the Lord even though they feared the surrounding peoples.(E) 4 They celebrated the Festival of Booths as prescribed, and offered burnt offerings each day, based on the number specified by ordinance for each festival day.(F) 5 After that, they offered the regular burnt offering and the offerings for the beginning of each month[a](G) and for all the Lord’s appointed holy occasions, as well as the freewill offerings brought to[b] the Lord.
6 On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord,(H) even though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid. 7 They gave money to the stonecutters and artisans, and gave food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so they could bring cedar wood from Lebanon to Joppa by sea,(I) according to the authorization given them by King Cyrus of Persia.(J)
Rebuilding the Temple
8 In the second month of the second year after they arrived at God’s house in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak,(K) and the rest of their brothers, including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began to build. They appointed the Levites who were 20 years old or more to supervise the work on the Lord’s house.(L) 9 Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of Judah[c] and of Henadad, with their sons and brothers, the Levites,(M) joined together to supervise those working on the house of God.
Temple Foundation Completed
10 When the builders had laid the foundation of the Lord’s temple, the priests, dressed in their robes and holding trumpets, and the Levites descended from Asaph,(N) holding cymbals, took their positions to praise the Lord, as King David of Israel had instructed.(O) 11 They sang with praise and thanksgiving to the Lord: “For He is good; His faithful love to Israel endures forever.”(P) Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s house had been laid.(Q)
12 But many of the older priests, Levites, and family leaders, who had seen the first temple, wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this house,(R) but many others shouted joyfully. 13 The people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shouting from that of the[d] weeping,(S) because the people were shouting so loudly. And the sound was heard far away.
Opposition to Rebuilding the Temple
4 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin(T) heard that the returned exiles[e](U) were building a temple for Yahweh, the God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the leaders of the families and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we also worship your God and have been sacrificing to Him[f] since the time King Esar-haddon of Assyria[g] brought us here.”(V)
3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other leaders of Israel’s families answered them, “You may have no part with us in building a house for our God,(W) since we alone must build it for Yahweh, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.”(X) 4 Then the people who were already in the land[h] discouraged[i] the people of Judah and made them afraid(Y) to build. 5 They also bribed officials to act against them to frustrate their plans(Z) throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia and until the reign of King Darius of Persia.[j](AA)
Opposition to Rebuilding the City
6 At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus,[k](AB) the people who were already in the land[l](AC) wrote an accusation against the residents of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 During the time of King Artaxerxes of Persia,[m](AD) Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his colleagues wrote to King Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic(AE) and translated.[n][o]
8 Rehum the chief deputy and Shimshai the scribe(AF) wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes concerning Jerusalem as follows:
9 From Rehum[p] the chief deputy, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues—the judges and magistrates[q] from Tripolis, Persia, Erech, Babylon, Susa(AG) (that is, the people of Elam),[r] 10 and the rest of the peoples whom the great and illustrious Ashurbanipal[s] deported and settled in the cities of Samaria(AH) and the region west of the Euphrates River.(AI)
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,(AJ) they will not pay tribute, duty, or land tax,(AK) and the royal revenue[t] will suffer. 14 Since we have taken an oath of loyalty to the king,[u] 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 fathers’ record books.(AL) 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.
Artaxerxes’ Reply
17 The king sent a reply to his chief deputy Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues living in Samaria and elsewhere in the region west of the Euphrates River:
Greetings.
18 The letter you sent us has been translated and read[v](AM) in my presence. 19 I issued a decree and a search was conducted. It was discovered that this city has had uprisings against kings since ancient times, and there have been rebellions and revolts in it. 20 Powerful kings have also ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region, and tribute, duty, and land tax were paid to them. 21 Therefore, issue an order for these men to stop, so that this city will not be rebuilt until a further decree has been pronounced by me.(AN) 22 See that you not neglect this matter. Otherwise, the damage will increase and the royal interests[w] will suffer.
23 As soon as the text of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read to Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues,(AO) they immediately went to the Jews in Jerusalem and forcibly stopped them.
Rebuilding of the Temple Resumed
24 Now the construction of God’s house in Jerusalem had stopped and remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.(AP)
Footnotes
- Ezra 3:5 Lit for the new moons
- Ezra 3:5 Lit well as those of everyone making a freewill offering to
- Ezra 3:9 Or Hodaviah; Neh 7:43; 1 Esdras 5:58
- Ezra 3:13 Lit the people
- Ezra 4:1 Lit the sons of the exile
- Ezra 4:2 Alt Hb tradition reads have not been sacrificing
- Ezra 4:2 Esar-haddon reigned 681–669 b.c.
- Ezra 4:4 Lit people of the land
- Ezra 4:4 Lit relaxed the hands of
- Ezra 4:5 Darius reigned 521–486 b.c.
- Ezra 4:6 = Xerxes; he reigned 486–465 b.c.
- Ezra 4:6 Lit people of the land
- Ezra 4:7 Artaxerxes reigned 465–425 b.c.
- Ezra 4:7 Lit translated. Aramaic:
- Ezra 4:7 Ezr 4:8–6:18 is written in Aram.
- Ezra 4:9 Lit Then Rehum
- Ezra 4:9 Or ambassadors
- Ezra 4:9 Aram obscure
- Ezra 4:10 Lit Osnappar
- Ezra 4:13 Aram obscure
- Ezra 4:14 Lit have eaten the salt of the palace
- Ezra 4:18 Or been read clearly
- Ezra 4:22 Lit the kings
Ezra 3-4
New International Version
Ezra 3-4
New International Version
Rebuilding the Altar
3 When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns,(A) the people assembled(B) together as one in Jerusalem. 2 Then Joshua(C) son of Jozadak(D) and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel(E) and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses(F) the man of God. 3 Despite their fear(G) of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices.(H) 4 Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles(I) with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. 5 After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon(J) sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred festivals of the Lord,(K) as well as those brought as freewill offerings to the Lord. 6 On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid.
Rebuilding the Temple
7 Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters,(L) and gave food and drink and olive oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs(M) by sea from Lebanon(N) to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus(O) king of Persia.
8 In the second month(P) of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel(Q) son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak and the rest of the people (the priests and the Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work. They appointed Levites twenty(R) years old and older to supervise the building of the house of the Lord. 9 Joshua(S) and his sons and brothers and Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Hodaviah[a]) and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers—all Levites—joined together in supervising those working on the house of God.
10 When the builders laid(T) the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets,(U) and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise(V) the Lord, as prescribed by David(W) king of Israel.(X) 11 With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:
“He is good;
his love toward Israel endures forever.”(Y)
And all the people gave a great shout(Z) of praise to the Lord, because the foundation(AA) of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple,(AB) wept(AC) aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. 13 No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy(AD) from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.
Opposition to the Rebuilding
4 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building(AE) a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon(AF) king of Assyria, who brought us here.”(AG)
3 But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.”(AH)
4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.[b](AI) 5 They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Later Opposition Under Xerxes and Artaxerxes
6 At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes,[c](AJ) they lodged an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.(AK)
7 And in the days of Artaxerxes(AL) king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic script and in the Aramaic(AM) language.[d][e]
8 Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:
9 Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, together with the rest of their associates(AN)—the judges, officials and administrators over the people from Persia, Uruk(AO) and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,(AP) 10 and the other people whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal(AQ) deported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates.(AR)
11 (This is a copy of the letter they sent him.)
To King Artaxerxes,
From your servants in Trans-Euphrates:
12 The king should know that the people who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring the walls and repairing the foundations.(AS)
13 Furthermore, the king should know that if this city is built and its walls are restored, no more taxes, tribute or duty(AT) will be paid, and eventually the royal revenues will suffer.[f] 14 Now since we are under obligation to the palace and it is not proper for us to see the king dishonored, we are sending this message to inform the king, 15 so that a search may be made in the archives(AU) of your predecessors. In these records you will find that this city is a rebellious city, troublesome to kings and provinces, a place with a long history of sedition. That is why this city was destroyed.(AV) 16 We inform the king that if this city is built and its walls are restored, you will be left with nothing in Trans-Euphrates.
17 The king sent this reply:
To Rehum the commanding officer, Shimshai the secretary and the rest of their associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates:(AW)
Greetings.
18 The letter you sent us has been read and translated in my presence. 19 I issued an order and a search was made, and it was found that this city has a long history of revolt(AX) against kings and has been a place of rebellion and sedition. 20 Jerusalem has had powerful kings ruling over the whole of Trans-Euphrates,(AY) and taxes, tribute and duty were paid to them. 21 Now issue an order to these men to stop work, so that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order. 22 Be careful not to neglect this matter. Why let this threat grow, to the detriment of the royal interests?(AZ)
23 As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates,(BA) they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop.
24 Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius(BB) king of Persia.
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