Ezra 4:7-23

7 And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his colleagues wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the text of the letter was written in Aramaic and translated ¹from Aramaic.

The Letter to King Artaxerxes

8 Rehum the commander * and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes, as follows -

9 then wrote Rehum the commander * and Shimshai the scribe and ²the rest of their colleagues, the judges and ³the 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 which the great and honorable Osnappar deported and settled in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the region beyond the River. ⁴Now

11 this is the copy of the letter which they sent to him: "T o King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the men in the region beyond the 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 ⁵the rebellious and evil city and ⁶are finishing the 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, ⁷they will not pay tribute, custom or toll, and it will damage the revenue of the kings.

14 "Now because * * we are in the service of the palace, and it is not fitting for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore * we have sent and informed the king,

15 so that a search may be made in the record books of your fathers. And you will discover in the record books and learn that that city is a rebellious city and damaging to kings and provinces, and that they have incited revolt within it in past days; therefore * that city was laid waste.

16 "We inform the king that if that city is rebuilt and the walls finished, as a result you will have no possession in the province beyond the River."

The King Replies and Work Stops

17 Then the king sent an answer to Rehum the commander *, to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and in the rest of the provinces beyond the River: "Peace. And now

18 the document which you sent to us has been ⁸translated and read before me.

19 "A decree has been issued by me, and a search has been made and it has been discovered that that city has risen up against the kings in past days, that rebellion and revolt have been perpetrated in it,

20 ⁹that mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem, governing all the provinces ¹⁰beyond the River, and that ¹¹tribute, custom and toll were paid to them.

21 "So, now issue a decree to make these men stop work, that this city may not be rebuilt until a decree 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 in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews and stopped them by force of arms.

Ezra 4:7-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZRA 4

The contents of this chapter are the offer the Samaritans made to the Jews, to assist them in building the temple, which having refused, they gave them all the trouble they could, Ezr 4:1-6 and a letter of theirs to Artaxerxes, king of Persia, full of accusations of them, Ezr 4:7-16 and the answer of Artaxerxes to it, giving orders to command the Jews to cease building the temple, Ezr 4:17-22 which orders were accordingly executed, and the work ceased till the second year of Darius, Ezr 4:23,24.

Cross References

• 1. 2 Kings 18:26; Daniel 2:4
• 2. 2 Kings 17:24
• 3. Ezra 5:6; Ezra 6:6
• 4. Ezra 4:11, 17; Ezra 7:12
• 5. 2 Chronicles 36:13
• 6. Ezra 5:3, 9
• 7. Ezra 4:20; Ezra 7:24
• 8. Nehemiah 8:8
• 9. 1 Kings 4:21; 1 Chronicles 18:3
• 10. Genesis 15:18; Joshua 1:4
• 11. Ezra 4:13; Ezra 7:24

Footnotes

• [a]. Heb "Artah-shashta"
• [b]. Lit "writing"
• [c]. Ch 4:8-6:18 is in Aram
• [d]. I.e. probably Ashurbanipal
• [e]. I.e. Euphrates River, and so throughout the ch
• [f]. Lit "eat the salt"
• [g]. Lit "plainly read before"
• [h]. Lit "put" forth
• [i]. Lit "been"