Parallel Bible results for "ezra 4"

Ezra 4

Septuagint Bible w/ Apocrypha LXX

1 And they that afflicted Juda and Benjamin heard, that the children of the captivity were building a house to the Lord God of Israel.

2 And they drew near to Zorobabel, and to the heads of families, and said to them, We will build with you; for as ye , we seek our God, and we do sacrifice to him from the days of Asaradan king of Assur, who brought us hither.

3 then Zorobabel, and Jesus and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel said to them, not for us and you to build a house to our God, for we ourselves will build together to the Lord our God, as Cyrus the king of the Persians commanded us.

4 And the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Juda, and hindered them in building,

5 and hiring against them, plotting to frustrate their counsel, all the days of Cyrus king of the Persians, and until the reign of Darius king of the Persians.

6 And in the reign of Assuerus, even in the beginning of his reign, they wrote a letter against the inhabitants of Juda and Jerusalem.

7 And in the days of Arthasastha, Tabeel wrote peaceably to Mithradates and to the rest of his fellow-servants: the tribute-gatherer wrote to Arthasastha king of the Persians a writing in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted.

8 Reum the chancellor, and Sampsa the scribe wrote an epistle against Jerusalem to King Arthasastha,

9 Thus has judged Reum the chancellor, and Sampsa the scribe, and the rest of our fellow-servants, the Dinaeans, the Apharsathachaeans, the Tarphalaeans, the Apharsaeans, the Archyaeans, the Babylonians, the Susanachaeans, Davaeans,

10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Assenaphar removed, and settled them in the cities of Somoron, and the rest beyond the river.

11 This the purport of the letter, which they sent to him: Thy servants the men beyond the river to king Arthasastha.

12 Be it known to the king, that the Jews who came up from thee to us have come to Jerusalem the rebellious and wicked city, which they are building, and its walls are set in order, and they have established the foundations of it.

13 Now then be it known to the king, that if that city be built up, and its walls completed, thou shalt have no tribute, neither will they pay , and this injures kings.

14 And it is not lawful for us to see the dishonour of the king: therefore have we sent and made known to the king;

15 That examination may be made in thy fathers' book of record; and thou shalt find, and thou shalt know that city rebellious, and does harm to kings and countries, and there are in the midst of it from very old time refuges for slaves: therefore this city has been made desolate.

16 We therefore declare to the king, that, if that city be built, and its walls be set up, thou shalt not have peace.

17 Then the king sent to Reum the chancellor, and Sampsa the scribe, and the rest of their fellow-servants who dwelt in Samaria, and the rest beyond the river, Peace; and he says,

18 The tribute-gatherer whom ye sent to us, has been called before me.

19 And a decree has been made by me, and we have examined, and found that city of old time exalts itself against kings, and that rebellions and desertions take place within it.

20 And there were powerful kings in Jerusalem, and they ruled over all the beyond the river, and abundant revenues and tribute were given to them.

21 Now therefore make a decree to stop the work of those men, and that city shall no more be built.

22 that ye be careful of the decree, to be remiss concerning this matter, lest at any time destruction should abound to the harm of kings.

23 Then the tribute-gatherer of king Arthasastha read before Reum the chancellor, and Sampsa the scribe, and his fellow-servants: and they went in haste to Jerusalem and through Juda, and caused them to cease with horses and an force.

24 Then ceased the work of the house of God in Jerusalem, and it was at a stand until the second year of the reign of Darius king of the Persians.

New International Version NIV

1 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building 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 king of Assyria, who brought us here.”

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.”

4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.

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.

6 At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes, they lodged an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

7 And in the days of Artaxerxes 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 language.

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—the judges, officials and administrators over the people from Persia, Uruk and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,

10 and the other people whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates.

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.

13 Furthermore, the king should know that if this city is built and its walls are restored, no more taxes, tribute or duty will be paid, and eventually the royal revenues will suffer.

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 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.

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: 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 against kings and has been a place of rebellion and sedition.

20 Jerusalem has had powerful kings ruling over the whole of Trans-Euphrates, 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?

23 As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates, 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 king of Persia.