Ezra 4–6

4TH CHAPTER

The Samaritans Stop the Work

¹When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people who returned from exile were building a temple for the Lord God of Israel, ²they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the families. They told them, “We want to help you build because we worship the same God you worship. We have been sacrificing to him^asince the time of King Esarhaddon of Assyria, who brought us here.” 

³But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of Israel’s families told them, “It isn’t right for your people and our people to build a temple for our God together. We must build it alone for the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus of Persia ordered us to do.” 

⁴Then the people of that region discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to continue building. ⁵They bribed officials to keep the people of Judah from carrying out their plans throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius of Persia. 

⁶When Xerxes began to rule, the enemies of Judah and Jerusalem wrote a letter in which they made an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 

⁷Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their group wrote to him when Artaxerxes was king of Persia. The letter was written with the Aramaic script and translated into the Aramaic language. 

⁸Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote another letter against ⸤the people of⸥ Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes. ⁹At that time, Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe were with the others of their group—the people from Denya, Partakka, Tarpel, Persia, Erech, Babylon, Susa, (that is, those of Elam), ¹⁰and the rest of the people whom the great and noble Assurbanipal deported. (Assurbanipal settled them in the cities of Samaria and the rest of the lands west of the Euphrates River.) ¹¹This is the copy of the letter they sent to him: 

To King Artaxerxes, 

From your servants, the people west of the Euphrates: 

¹²Your Majesty, you should know that the Jews who came to us from you are now in Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are close to finishing the walls. The foundations are already in place. ¹³You should also know that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, the Jews will no longer pay taxes, fees, and tolls. 

Ultimately, this will hurt the king’s income. ¹⁴Now, because we are paid by your palace, it isn’t right for us to watch something happen that will dishonor the king. So we are sending this letter to inform you ¹⁵that you should search the official records of your predecessors. You will find in those official records that this city has been rebellious and has been a threat to kings and provinces. This city has a history of rebelliousness. That’s why this city was destroyed. ¹⁶We want the king to know that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, you will have nothing left ⸤of your province⸥ west of the Euphrates River. 

¹⁷Then the king sent this reply: 

To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their group living in Samaria, and to others west of the Euphrates River: 

I wish you peace and prosperity! 

¹⁸The letter you sent me has been read word for word in my presence. ¹⁹I gave the order, and a search was made. I discovered that this city has a long history of uprisings against kings. Its inhabitants are guilty of treason and rebellion. ²⁰Jerusalem has had powerful kings who have ruled the whole ⸤province⸥ west of the Euphrates. Taxes, fees, and tolls were paid to them. ²¹So order these men to stop rebuilding. Keep this city from being rebuilt until I give the order. ²²Be careful not to neglect your duty in this matter. Why should I, the king, suffer any more harm? 

²³Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and their group hurried to Jerusalem after hearing a copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter. They forced the Jews to stop rebuilding. 

²⁴Then the work on God’s temple in Jerusalem was stopped. Nothing more was done until Darius’ second year as king of Persia. 

5TH CHAPTER

Work Resumed on the Temple

¹The prophet Haggai and Zechariah, grandson of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of Israel’s God, who was over them. ²Then Zerubbabel, who was Shealtiel’s son, and Jeshua, who was Jozadak’s son, began to rebuild God’s temple in Jerusalem. God’s prophets were with them and supported them. 

³At the same time, Governor Tattenai ⸤from the province⸥ west of the Euphrates River, Shethar Bozenai, and their group went to the Jews and asked them, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this temple and finish its walls?” ⁴They also asked the Jews for the names of the men who were working on this building. 

⁵But the leaders of the Jews were under God’s watchful eye. They couldn’t be stopped until Darius received a report and sent a reply to it. 

Permission Requested from Darius

⁶Here is a copy of the letter Governor Tattenai ⸤from the province⸥ west of the Euphrates River, Shethar Bozenai and his group (the Persians west of that river) sent to King Darius. ⁷They sent him the following report: 

To King Darius, 

We wish you peace and prosperity in everything you do. 

⁸Your Majesty should know that we went to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The temple is being built with large stones and with wooden beams laid in its walls. The builders are doing an excellent job and making rapid progress. ⁹We asked their leaders the following question: “Who gave you permission to rebuild this temple and finish its walls?” ¹⁰For your information, we also asked them for their names so that we would have a record of the men who were their leaders. ¹¹This was their reply to us: 

“We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the temple that was originally built many years ago by a great king of Israel. ¹²But because our ancestors made the God of heaven angry, he handed them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (a Chaldean). So Nebuchadnezzar destroyed this temple and deported its people to Babylon. 

¹³“However, in the first year of the reign of King Cyrus of Babylon, Cyrus gave permission for God’s temple to be rebuilt. ¹⁴In addition, Cyrus took out of a temple in Babylon the gold and silver utensils that belonged to God’s temple. (Nebuchadnezzar had taken them out of God’s temple in Jerusalem and brought them into a temple in Babylon.) Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor. ¹⁵Cyrus told him, ‘Take these utensils. Place them in the temple in Jerusalem. Rebuild God’s temple on its original site.’ ¹⁶Then Sheshbazzar laid the foundation of God’s temple in Jerusalem. The temple has been under construction from that time until now, but it still isn’t finished.” 

¹⁷If it pleases Your Majesty, allow someone to search the king’s archives in Babylon to determine whether King Cyrus gave permission for the temple of God to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Then please send us Your Majesty’s decision on this matter. 

6TH CHAPTER

King Darius Finds King Cyrus’ Memorandum

¹Then King Darius gave the order to search the library where the archives were stored in Babylon. ²A scroll was found in the palace of Ecbatana, which is in the province of Media. This was written on it: 

MEMORANDUM 

³Date: Cyrus’ first year as king 

From: King Cyrus 

Subject: God’s temple in Jerusalem 

The temple should be rebuilt as a place to offer sacrifices. Its foundation should be laid. It should be 90 feet high and 90 feet wide ⁴with three rows of large stones and a row of wood. The king’s palace will pay for it. ⁵In addition, Cyrus took out of a temple in Babylon the gold and silver utensils that belonged to God’s temple. (Nebuchadnezzar had taken them out of God’s temple in Jerusalem and brought them into a temple in Babylon.) They should be returned to their proper place in the temple in Jerusalem. You should put each one in God’s temple. 

⁶Governor Tattenai ⸤from the province⸥ west of the Euphrates, Shethar Bozenai, and those of your group (the Persians west of the river): 

You must stay away from there. ⁷Don’t interfere with the work on God’s temple. Let the governor of the Jews and the leaders of Judah rebuild God’s temple on its ⸤original⸥ foundation. ⁸I am issuing this decree about how you must help the Jewish leaders rebuild God’s temple: 

The cost ⸤for this⸥ should be paid out of the king’s own money from the taxes ⸤on the province⸥ west of the Euphrates. Full payment should be made to these men so that the work is not interrupted. ⁹Also, whatever the priests in Jerusalem need for burnt offerings to the God of heaven—young bulls, rams, lambs, wheat, salt, wine, and olive oil—should be provided for them each day. Make sure that nothing is omitted. ¹⁰Then they can offer sacrifices that please the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. 

¹¹I am also issuing a decree that if anyone tampers with my orders, that person should be impaled on a beam torn from his own house and his house should be turned into a pile of rubble.¹²May the God whose name is worshiped there cause the downfall of each king and nation who tries to tamper with my orders or tries to destroy the temple of the God in Jerusalem. 

I, Darius, have issued a decree. It’s to be carried out exactly as ordered. 

¹³Then Governor Tattenai ⸤from the province⸥ west of the Euphrates River, Shethar Bozenai, and their group did exactly what King Darius had ordered. ¹⁴So the Jewish leaders continued to make progress because of the message from the prophet Haggai and Zechariah, the grandson of Iddo. They finished building as the God of Israel had ordered and as Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes (the kings of Persia) had ordered. ¹⁵This temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar in the sixth year of King Darius’ reign. 

The Temple Is Completed and Dedicated

¹⁶Then the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the others who had returned from exile celebrated at the dedication of God’s temple. ¹⁷At the…