Ezra 4:11
(This is a copy of the letter they sent to him:)“To King Artaxerxes, from your servants in Trans-Euphrates:
(This is a copy of the letter they sent to him:)“To King Artaxerxes, from your servants in Trans-Euphrates:
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4 Then the local people began to discourage the people of Judah and to dishearten them from building.
5 They were hiring advisers to oppose them, so as to frustrate their plans, throughout the time of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius of Persia.
6 Official Complaints Are Lodged Against the Jews At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus they filed an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
7 And during the reign of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their colleagues wrote to King Artaxerxes of Persia. This letter was first written in Aramaic but then translated.[Aramaic:]
8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter concerning Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:
9 From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues– the judges, the rulers, the officials, the secretaries, the Erechites, the Babylonians, the people of Susa(that is, the Elamites),
10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and other places in Trans-Euphrates.
3 At that time Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues came to them and asked,“Who gave you authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?”
4 They also asked them,“What are the names of the men who are building this edifice?”
5 But God was watching over the elders of Judah, and they were not stopped until a report could be dispatched to Darius and a letter could be sent back concerning this.
6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and his colleagues who were the officials of Trans-Euphrates sent to King Darius.
7 The report they sent to him was written as follows:“To King Darius: All greetings!
8 Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great God. It is being built with large stones, and timbers are being placed in the walls. This work is being done with all diligence and is prospering in their hands.
9 We inquired of those elders, asking them,‘Who gave you the authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?’
10 We also inquired of their names in order to inform you, so that we might write the names of the men who were their leaders.
11 They responded to us in the following way:‘We are servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the temple which was previously built many years ago. A great king of Israel built it and completed it.
12 Now let the king be aware that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and odious city. They are completing its walls and repairing its foundations.
13 Let the king also be aware that if this city is built and its walls are completed, no more tax, custom, or toll will be paid, and the royal treasury will suffer loss.
14 In light of the fact that we are loyal to the king, and since it does not seem appropriate to us that the king should sustain damage, we are sending the king this information
15 so that he may initiate a search of the records of his predecessors and discover in those records that this city is rebellious and injurious to both kings and provinces, producing internal revolts from long ago. It is for this very reason that this city was destroyed.
16 We therefore are informing the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, you will not retain control of this portion of Trans-Euphrates.”
17 The king sent the following response:“To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and other parts of Trans-Euphrates: Greetings!
18 The letter you sent to us has been translated and read in my presence.
6 “Now Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials of Trans-Euphrates– all of you stay far away from there!
7 Leave the work on this temple of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this temple of God in its proper place.
8 “I also hereby issue orders as to what you are to do with those elders of the Jews in order to rebuild this temple of God. From the royal treasury, from the taxes of Trans-Euphrates the complete costs are to be given to these men, so that there may be no interruption of the work.
9 Then I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, and I presented to them the letters from the king. The king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.
6 Then the king, with his consort sitting beside him, replied,“How long would your trip take, and when would you return?” Since the king was pleased to send me, I gave him a time.
7 I said to the king,“If the king is so inclined, let him give me letters for the governors of Trans-Euphrates that will enable me to travel safely until I reach Judah,
11 Artaxerxes Gives Official Endorsement to Ezra’s Mission What follows is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priestly scribe. Ezra was a scribe in matters pertaining to the commandments of the LORD and his statutes over Israel:
12 “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven:
13 I have now issued a decree that anyone in my kingdom from the people of Israel– even the priests and Levites– who wishes to do so may go up with you to Jerusalem.
14 You are authorized by the king and his seven advisers to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your possession,
36 Then they presented the decrees of the king to the king’s satraps and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, who gave help to the people and to the temple of God.
13 The Temple Is Finally Dedicated Then Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues acted accordingly– with precision, just as Darius the king had given instructions.
22 Exercise appropriate caution so that there is no negligence in this matter. Why should danger increase to the point that kings sustain damage?”
23 Then, as soon as the copy of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read in the presence of Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues, they proceeded promptly to the Jews in Jerusalem and stopped them with threat of armed force.
21 “I, King Artaxerxes, hereby issue orders to all the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates, that you precisely execute all that Ezra the priestly scribe of the law of the God of heaven may request of you–
7 Adjacent to them worked Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, who were men of Gibeon and Mizpah. These towns were under the jurisdiction of the governor of Trans-Euphrates.
1 Opposition to the Building Efforts When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin learned that the former exiles were building a temple for the LORD God of Israel,
2 they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders and said to them,“Let us help you build, for like you we seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him from the time of King Esarhaddon of Assyria, who brought us here.”
1 The Names of the Returning Exiles These are the people of the province who were going up, from the captives of the exile whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had forced into exile in Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own city.
17 I sent them to Iddo, who was the leader in the place called Casiphia. I told them what to say to Iddo and his relatives, who were the temple servants in Casiphia, so they would bring us attendants for the temple of our God.
20 Powerful kings have been over Jerusalem who ruled throughout the entire Trans-Euphrates and who were the beneficiaries of tribute, custom, and toll.
4 They contacted me four times in this way, and I responded the same way each time.
5 The fifth time that Sanballat sent his assistant to me in this way, he had an open letter in his hand.
6 Written in it were the following words:“Among the nations it is rumored(and Geshem has substantiated this) that you and the Jews have intentions of revolting, and for this reason you are building the wall. Furthermore, according to these rumors you are going to become their king.
12 So it happened that the Jews who were living near them came and warned us repeatedly about all the schemes they were plotting against us.
19 I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people,“The work is demanding and extensive, and we are spread out on the wall, far removed from one another.
16 From that day forward, half of my men were doing the work and half of them were taking up spears, shields, bows, and body armor. Now the officers were behind all the people of Judah