Parallel Bible results for "ezra 4"

Ezra 4

Common English Bible CEB

1 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple for the LORD, the God of Israel,

2 they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the families and said to them, "Let's build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we've been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Assyria's King Esarhaddon, who brought us here."

3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of the families in Israel replied, "You'll have no part with us in building a house for our God. We alone will build because the LORD, the God of Israel, and Persia's King Cyrus commanded us."

4 The neighboring peoples discouraged the people of Judah, made them afraid to build,

5 and bribed officials to frustrate their plan. They did this throughout the rule of Persia's King Cyrus until the rule of Persia's King Darius.

6 In the rule of Ahasuerus, at the beginning of his rule, they composed an indictment against those who lived in Judah and Jerusalem.

7 In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their associates wrote to Persia's King Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.

8 Rehum the royal deputy and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter concerning Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:

9 From Rehum the royal deputy and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their colleagues, the judges, the administrators, the officials, the Persians, the people of Erech, the Babylonians, the people of Susa (that is, the Elamites),

10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and famous Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River.

11 (This is a copy of the letter they sent to him.) To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the people of the province Beyond the River.

12 May it be known to the king that the Jews who left you and came to us have arrived in Jerusalem. They are rebuilding the rebellious and wicked city; they are completing the walls and repairing the foundations.

13 May it be known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls completed, they will not pay tribute or tax or dues, and the royal revenue will be reduced.

14 Since we receive our salary from the palace, and since it is not fitting for us to witness the king's dishonor, we now send this letter and inform the king

15 so that you may search the records of your ancestors. You will discover in the records that this is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, and that it has been in revolt over a long period of time. As a result, this city was laid waste.

16 We tell the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls completed, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.

17 The king sent this answer: Greetings to Rehum the royal deputy and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and elsewhere in the province Beyond the River.

18 The entire letter that you sent to us has been read in translation for me.

19 I issued an order; they searched and discovered that this city has revolted against kings over a long period of time. There has been much rebellion and revolt there.

20 However, there have been mighty kings over Jerusalem who also ruled over the whole province Beyond the River. Tribute and taxes and dues were paid to them.

21 Therefore, issue an order to stop these people: this city is not to be rebuilt until I make a decree.

22 Be sure to carry out this order! Why should danger grow and threaten the king?

23 When the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their colleagues, they hurried to Jerusalem to oppose the Jews and made them stop by force of arms.

24 At that time the work on God's house in Jerusalem stopped and was suspended until the second year of the rule of Persia's King Darius.

The Message Bible MSG

1 Old enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building The Temple of the God of Israel.

2 They came to Zerubbabel and the family heads and said, "We'll help you build. We worship your God the same as you. We've been offering sacrifices to him since Esarhaddon king of Assyria brought us here."

3 Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the family heads of Israel said to them, "Nothing doing. Building The Temple of our God is not the same thing to you as to us. We alone will build for the God of Israel. We're the ones King Cyrus of Persia commanded to do it."

4 So these people started beating down the morale of the people of Judah, harassing them as they built.

5 They even hired propagandists to sap their resolve. They kept this up for about fifteen years, throughout the lifetime of Cyrus king of Persia and on into the reign of Darius king of Persia.

6 In fact, in the reign of Xerxes, at the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against those living in Judah and Jerusalem.

7 Again later, in the time of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their associates wrote regarding the Jerusalem business to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated. (What follows is written in Aramaic.)

8 Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:

9 From: Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, backed by the rest of their associates, the judges and officials over the people from Tripolis, Persia, Erech, and Babylon, Elamites of Susa,

10 and all the others whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the city of Samaria and other places in the land across the Euphrates.

11 (This is the copy of the letter they sent to him.) To: King Artaxerxes from your servants from the land across the Euphrates.

12 We are here to inform the king that the Jews who came from you to us have arrived in Jerusalem and have set about rebuilding that rebellious and evil city. They are busy at work finishing the walls and rebuilding the foundations.

13 The king needs to know that once that city is rebuilt and the wall completed they will no longer pay a penny of tribute, tax, or duty. The royal treasury will feel the loss.

14 We're loyal to the king and cannot sit idly by while our king is being insulted - that's why we are passing this information on.

15 We suggest that you look into the court records of your ancestors; you'll learn from those books that that city is a rebellious city, a thorn in the side to kings and provinces, an historic center of unrest and revolt. That's why the city was wiped out.

16 We are letting the king know that if that city gets rebuilt and its walls restored, you'll end up with nothing in your province beyond the Euphrates.

17 The king sent his reply to Rehum the commanding officer, Shimshai the secretary, and the rest of their associates who lived in Samaria and other places beyond the Euphrates.

18 The letter that you sent has been translated and read to me.

19 I gave orders to search the records, and sure enough it turns out that this city has revolted against kings time and again - rebellion is an old story there.

20 I find that they've had their share of strong kings who have taken over beyond the Euphrates and exacted taxes, tribute, and duty.

21 So do this: Order these men to stop work immediately - not a lick of rebuilding in that city unless I order it.

22 Act quickly and firmly; they've done enough damage to kings!

23 The letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates. They lost no time. They went to the Jews in Jerusalem and made them quit work.

24 That put a stop to the work on The Temple of God in Jerusalem. Nothing more was done until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.