Ezra 4:17–24

The King Replies and Work Stops

¹⁷Then 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

¹⁸the document which you sent to us has been ^1atranslated and read before me.

¹⁹“A decree has been ¹issued 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,

^20athat mighty kings have ¹ruled over Jerusalem, governing all the provinces ^bbeyond the River, and that ^ctribute, 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?”

²³Then 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.

²⁴Then work on the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it was stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.