Adversaries Hinder the Work

4 Now when [the Samaritans] the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles from the captivity were building a temple to the Lord God of Israel, ² they came to Zerubbabel [who was now governor] and to the heads of the fathers’ households and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God [and worship] just as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.”^{(A) 3} But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, “You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the Lord God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.”

⁴ Then [the Samaritans and others of] the people of the land ^[a]discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them [to deter them] from building, ⁵ and hired advisers [to work] against them to frustrate their plans during the entire time that Cyrus king of Persia reigned, [and this lasted] even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

⁶ Now in the reign of ^[b]Ahasuerus (Xerxes), in the beginning of his reign, the Samaritans wrote [to him] an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem [who had returned from exile].

⁷ Later, in the days of [King] Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the text of the letter was written in Aramaic and translated from Aramaic.

The Letter to King Artaxerxes

⁸ Rehum the [Persian] commander [of the Samaritans] and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows— ⁹ then wrote Rehum the [Persian] commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, 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 whom the great and noble ^[c]Osnappar deported and settled in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the region ^[d]west of the [Euphrates] River. Now ¹¹ this is a copy of the letter which they sent to him:

“To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men in the region west of 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 this rebellious and evil city and are finishing its 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, then they will not pay tax, custom, or toll, and the revenue of the kings will be diminished. ¹⁴ Now because we are in the service of the palace, and it is not proper for us to witness the king’s dishonor, for that reason we have sent word and informed the king, ¹⁵ in order that a search may be made in the record books of your fathers. And you will discover in the record books and learn that this is a rebellious city, damaging to kings and provinces, and that in the past they have incited rebellion within it. That is why that city was laid waste (destroyed). ¹⁶ We are informing the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls finished, it will mean that you will have no possession in the province west of the [Euphrates] River.”

The King Replies and Work Stops

¹⁷ Then the king sent an answer to Rehum the [Persian] commander, to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and in the rest of the provinces west of the River: “Peace (Greetings). And now, ¹⁸ The document which you sent to us has been translated and read before me. ¹⁹ I have issued a command and a search has been made, and it has been discovered that this city [Jerusalem] in earlier times has revolted against the kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been perpetrated in it. ²⁰ There have also been mighty kings over Jerusalem who have ruled over all the provinces west of the [Euphrates] River, and tax, custom, and toll were paid to them. ²¹ So, now issue a decree to make these men stop [work], so that this city is not rebuilt until a [new] command is issued by me. ²² Beware of being negligent in carrying out this matter. Why should damage increase to the detriment of the kings?”

²³ Then as soon as the copy of King Artaxerxes’ document was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues, they went up hurriedly to Jerusalem to the Jews, and made them stop [work] by force of arms.

²⁴ Then the ^[e]work on the house of God in Jerusalem stopped. It was suspended until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Temple Work Resumed

5 Now when the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, the son (grandson) of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, whose Spirit was over them, ² then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel [heir to the throne of Judah] and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God [Haggai and Zechariah] were with them, supporting and encouraging them.^(B)

³ At that time Tattenai, the governor of the province ^[f]on the west side of the [Euphrates] River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues came to them and said, “Who ^[g]issued you a decree and authorized you to rebuild this temple and to restore this wall (shrine)?” ⁴ Then, accordingly, we told them the names of the men who were reconstructing this building. ⁵ But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, so they [Tattenai and the others] did not stop them until a report could come before Darius, and then an answer was returned by letter concerning it.

Adversaries Write to Darius

⁶ This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of the province west of the [Euphrates] River, and Shethar-bozenai and his associates, the officials who were west of the River, sent to Darius the king. ⁷ They sent a report to him in which it was written: “To Darius the king, all peace. ⁸ Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built with huge stones, with beams laid in the walls; and this work goes on with diligence and care and is succeeding in their hands. ⁹ Then we asked those elders, ‘Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?’ ¹⁰ We also asked them their names so that we might notify you, and so that we might record the names of the men ^[h]in charge. ¹¹ They replied, ‘We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and are rebuilding the temple which was erected many years ago, which a ^[i]great king of Israel built and finished. ¹² But because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and exiled the people to Babylon. ¹³ But in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, [the same] King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. ¹⁴ Also the gold and silver utensils of the house of God which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and had brought into the temple of Babylon, King Cyrus took from the temple of Babylon and had them given to a man whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor. ¹⁵ And Cyrus said to him, “Take these utensils, go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site.” ¹⁶ Then that Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem; and from then until now it has been under construction and is not yet completed.’ ¹⁷ So now, if it pleases the king, let a search be conducted in the king’s treasure house [in the royal archives] there in Babylon to see if it is true that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild this house of God at Jerusalem; and let the king send us his decision concerning this matter.”

Darius Finds Cyrus’ Decree

6 Then King Darius issued a decree, and a search was conducted in Babylon in the archives where the treasures [and records] were stored. ² In Ecbatana in the fortress (palace) in the province of Media, a scroll was found on which this was recorded: “Memorandum— ³ In the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king issued a decree: ‘Concerning the house of God in Jerusalem, let the temple (house), the place where sacrifices are offered, be rebuilt and let its foundations be strongly laid, its height and its width each 60 cubits, ⁴ with three layers of huge stones and one layer of timbers. Let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. ⁵ Also let the gold and silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and brought back to their [proper] places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God.’

⁶ “Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province ^[j]west of the [Euphrates] River, Shethar-bozenai and your associates, the officials who are west of the River, keep far away from there. ⁷ Leave the work on this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site. ⁸ Also, I issue a decree as to what you are to do for these Jewish elders for the rebuilding of this house of God: the full cost is to be paid to these people from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces west of the River, and that without delay. ⁹ Whatever is needed, including young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine, and anointing oil, according to the request of the priests at Jerusalem, let it all be given to them daily without fail, ¹⁰ so that they may offer pleasing (sweet-smelling) sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. ¹¹ I have also issued a decree that if there is any man who violates this edict, a beam of timber shall be pulled from his house [and set up]; then he shall be impaled on it, and his house shall be turned into a refuse heap for this [violation]. ¹² May the God who has caused His ^[k]Name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who attempts to alter this command, so as to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree; let it be carried out quickly and with due diligence.”

The Temple Completed and Dedicated

¹³ Then Tattenai, governor of the province west of the [Euphrates] River, with Shethar-bozenai and their associates carried out the decree with due diligence, just as King Darius had sent and commanded. ¹⁴ And the Jewish elders built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building as commanded by the God of Israel and in accordance with the decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia. ¹⁵ This temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, in the ^[l]sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

¹⁶ And all Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the [former] exiles—celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. ¹⁷ They offered at the dedication of this house of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and, as a sin offering for all Israel, 12 male goats, according to the number of Israel’s tribes. ¹⁸ Then they appointed the priests to their divisions and the Levites in their orders for the service of God at Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.

The Passover Observed

¹⁹ The [former] exiles kept the Passover on the fourteenth [day] of the first month. ²⁰ For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were [ceremonially] clean. So they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their brothers the priests, and for themselves. ²¹ The Passover was eaten by the sons (descendants) of Israel (Jacob) who returned from exile and by all those who had separated themselves from the [ceremonial] uncleanness of the nations of the land to join them, in order to seek the Lord God of Israel. ²² They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the Lord had caused them to rejoice and had turned the heart of ^[m]the king of Assyria toward them, so that he encouraged them and strengthened their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.