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Ezra 4
New Catholic Bible
Ezra 4
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 4
Samaritan Interference. 1 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were in the process of building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the heads of families and said: “Let us assist you as you build, for we reverence your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of King Esarhaddon of Assyria who brought us here.”
3 However, Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of Israelite families replied: “You shall have no share in the building of the house for our God. We alone shall build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus of Persia has commanded us.”
4 As a result, the people who lived around them became determined to discourage the people of Judah and to make them fearful of continuing to build. 5 Moreover, they also bribed officials to frustrate the plans of the people of Judah. This continued during the remaining years of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia and into the reign of King Darius of Persia.[a]
Later Hostility.[b] 6 At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus, the people of the land drew up an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 And later, in the days of Artaxerxes of Persia, Mithredath joined Tabeel and their other associates in writing a letter to the king in Aramaic and then translated.
8 After that, Rehum the governor and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes denouncing Jerusalem as follows:
9 “From Rehum the governor and Shimshai the secretary, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the envoys, the officials, the magistrates, and the governors over the men from Tripolis, Persia, Erech, and Babylon, the Elamites in Susa, and 10 all the other peoples whom the great and illustrious Ashurbanipal deported and settled, in the city of Samaria and in the rest of the province of West-of-Euphrates.”[c]
11 This is a copy of the letter that they sent to him: “To King Artaxerxes, from your servants, the people of the province of Trans-Euphrates: 12 The king has the right to know that the Jews who came up from you to us have arrived in Jerusalem and are in the process of rebuilding this rebellious and wicked city. They have restored the walls and are repairing the foundations. 13 Now we wish to inform the king that if the city is rebuilt and the walls are restored, they will refuse to pay tribute, taxes, or tolls, causing the royal revenues to be sharply reduced.
14 “Now, because we share the salt of the palace,[d] we know that it is not right for us to witness the king’s dishonor. We therefore are sending this information to the king 15 in order that a search may be made in the archives of your ancestors. In those archives you will discover that this is a rebellious city greatly troublesome to kings and provinces, and that sedition has been stirred up within its walls from the earliest times. That is why this city was destroyed. 16 Therefore, we wish to inform you, O king, that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are raised up again, you will be left without any territory in Trans-Euphrates.”
17 The king sent this reply: “To Rehum the governor, to Shimshai the secretary, and to the rest of their associates who reside in Samaria and in the province of West-of-Euphrates: Greetings!
18 “The letter you have sent to us has now been accurately translated and been read in my presence. 19 When an inquiry was made at my command, it was discovered that this city has frequently risen up against the kings in the past, and that revolt and rebellion were more than an occasional occurrence. 20 In addition, powerful kings have reigned in Jerusalem and exercised authority over the entire province of West-of-Euphrates while exacting tribute, taxes, and tolls.
21 “Therefore, now give orders that these men must cease their work, and make it clear that this city is not to be rebuilt until I issue a decree to that effect. 22 And take care that you do not act negligently in this regard, lest the damage increase, to the detriment of the royal house.”
23 As soon as the text of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read before Rehum the governor, Shimshai the secretary, and their colleagues, they traveled immediately to Jerusalem and compelled the Jews by force of arms to stop their work.
24 Rebuilding of the Temple. Work on the house of God in Jerusalem then ceased, and it so remained until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.[e]
Footnotes
- Ezra 4:5 Darius I (522–486 B.C.) included Syria and Palestine in his fifth satrapy (administrative province), known as the Satrapy Beyond the River (i.e., beyond the Euphrates). The account in verse 5 is taken up again in verse 24.
- Ezra 4:6 Ahasuerus: successor of Darius I, reigned from 486–465 B.C. He was succeeded by Artaxerxes I (465–424 B.C.).
- Ezra 4:10 The Aramaic text has Osnapper as the king’s name, but he is probably the famous Ashurbanipal (668–626 B.C.), son of Esarhaddon (v. 2) and continuer of his policy.
- Ezra 4:14 Share the salt of the palace: they were supported and paid by the king, and therefore, under obligation to him.
- Ezra 4:24 Work on the temple was interrupted for as many as ten years and resumed about the year 520 B.C.
Ezra 4
New International Version
Ezra 4
New International Version
Opposition to the Rebuilding
4 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building(A) 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(B) king of Assyria, who brought us here.”(C)
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.”(D)
4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.[a](E) 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,[b](F) they lodged an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.(G)
7 And in the days of Artaxerxes(H) 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(I) language.[c][d]
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(J)—the judges, officials and administrators over the people from Persia, Uruk(K) and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,(L) 10 and the other people whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal(M) deported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates.(N)
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.(O)
13 Furthermore, the king should know that if this city is built and its walls are restored, no more taxes, tribute or duty(P) will be paid, and eventually the royal revenues will suffer.[e] 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(Q) 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.(R) 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:(S)
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(T) against kings and has been a place of rebellion and sedition. 20 Jerusalem has had powerful kings ruling over the whole of Trans-Euphrates,(U) 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?(V)
23 As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates,(W) 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(X) king of Persia.
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