1 NOW when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel;
2 Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.
3 But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.
4 Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,
5 And hired counsellers against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
6 And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
7 And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.
8 Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort:
9 Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions; the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites,
10 And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnappar brought over, and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest that are on this side the river, and at such a time.
11 This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king; Thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time.
12 Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations.
13 Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings.
14 Now because we have maintenance from the king’s palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king’s dishonour, therefore have we sent and certified the king;
15 That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause was this city destroyed.
16 We certify the king that, if this city be builded again, and the walls thereof set up, by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side the river.
17 Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and unto the rest beyond the river, Peace, and at such a time.
18 The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.
19 And I commanded, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein.
20 There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them.
21 Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me.
22 Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?
23 Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes ’ letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.

24 Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

1 Now when the aduersaries of Iudah and Beniamin, heard that the children of the captiuitie builded the Temple vnto the Lord God of Israel:

2 Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chiefe of the fathers, and said vnto them, Let vs build with you, for wee seeke your God, as yee doe, and we doe sacrifice vnto him, since the dayes of Esar-Haddon king of Assur, which brought vs vp hither.

3 But Zerubbabel and Ieshua, and the rest of the chiefe of the fathers of Israel, said vnto them, You haue nothing to doe with vs, to build an house vnto our God, but we our selues together will build vnto the Lord God of Israel, as king Cyrus the King of Persia hath commanded vs.

4 Then the people of the land weakened the handes of the people of Iudah, and troubled them in building,

5 And hired counsellers against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the dayes of Cyrus king of Persia, euen vntill the reigne of Darius king of Persia.

6 And in the reigne of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reigne, wrote they vnto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Iudah and Ierusalem.

7 ¶ And in the dayes of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, vnto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.

8 Rehum the Chancellour, and Shimshai the Scribe, wrote a letter against Ierusalem, to Artaxerxes the king, in this sort:

9 Then, wrote Rehum the Chancellour, and Shimshai the Scribe, and the rest of their companions; the Dinaites, the Apharsathkites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archeuites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehauites, and the Elamites,

10 And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnappar brought ouer, and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest that are on this side the Riuer, and at such a time.

11 ¶ This is the copy of the Letter, that they sent vnto him, euen vnto Artaxerxes the king: Thy seruants on this side the Riuer, and at such a time,

12 Be it knowen vnto the king, that the Iewes which came vp from thee to vs, are come vnto Ierusalem, building the rebellious and the bad citie, and haue set vp the walles thereof, and ioyned the foundations.

13 Be it knowen now vnto the king, that if this city be builded, and the wals set vp againe, then will they not pay tolle, tribute, and custome, and so thou shalt endammage the reuenue of the kings.

14 Now because we haue maintenance from the Kings palace, and it was not meete for vs to see the kings dishonour: therefore haue we sent, and certified the king,

15 That search may be made in the booke of the Records of thy fathers: so shalt thou finde in the booke of the Records, and know, that this City is a rebellious city, and hurtfull vnto Kings and prouinces, and that they haue moued sedition within the same of olde time: for which cause was this citie destroyed.

16 We certifie the king, that if this citie be builded againe, & the walles thereof set vp: by this meanes, thou shalt haue no portion on this side the Riuer.

17 ¶ Then sent the king an answere vnto Rehum the Chancellour, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions, that dwell in Samaria, and vnto the rest beyond the Riuer, Peace, and at such a time.

18 The letter, which ye sent vnto vs, hath bene plainly read before me.

19 And I commaunded, and search hath bene made, and it is found, that this citie of old time hath made insurrection against Kings, and that rebellion & sedition haue bene made therein.

20 There haue bene mighty Kings also ouer Ierusalem, which haue ruled ouer all countreys beyond the Riuer, and tolle, tribute, and custome, was payd vnto them.

21 Giue ye now commandement, to cause these men to cease, and that this citie be not builded, vntill another commandement shall be giuen from me.

22 Take heed now that ye faile not to doe this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?

23 ¶ Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went vp in haste to Ierusalem, vnto the Iewes, and made them to cease, by force and power.

24 Then ceased the woorke of the house of the God, which is at Ierusalem. So it ceased, vnto the second yeere of the reigne of Darius king of Persia.

I == Ezra 4:7-9

II == 2nd Kings 17:24 , 32-33 ; 19:37 ; Ezra 4:10

 

 

 

 

III == Ezra 1:1-3 ; Neh 2:20

 

 

 

 

IV Ezra 3:3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IX == 2nd Kings 17:30-31

 

 

 

X == Ezra 4:10-11 , 17 ; 7:12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XIII == Ezra 7:24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XX == Gen 15:18 ; Josh 1:4 ; 1st Kings 4:21 ; Ps 72:8

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

2 they approached Zerubbabel and the family heads and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we seek your God just as you do, and we have sacrificed to him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, who had us brought here."

3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the family heads of Israel answered them, "It is not your responsibility to build with us a house for our God, but we alone must build it for the LORD, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus of Persia has commanded us."

4 Thereupon the people of the land set out to intimidate and dishearten the people of Judah so as to keep them from building.

5 They also suborned counselors to work against them and thwart their plans during the remaining years of Cyrus, king of Persia, and until the reign of Darius, king of Persia.

6 Also at the beginning of the reign of Ahashuerus they prepared a written accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

7 Again, in the time of Artaxerxes, Mithredath wrote in concert with Tabeel and the rest of his fellow officials to Artaxerxes, king of Persia. The document was written in Aramaic and was accompanied by a translation. (Aramaic:)

8 Then Rehum, the governor, and Shimshai, the scribe, wrote the following letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes:

9 "Rehum, the governor, Shimshai, the scribe, and their fellow judges, officials, and agents from among the Persian, Urukian, Babylonian, Susian (that is Elamite),

10 and the other peoples whom the great and illustrious Assurbanipal transported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in the province West-of-Euphrates, as follows. . . ."

11 This is a copy of the letter that they sent to him: "To King Artaxerxes, your servants, the men of West-of-Euphrates, as follows:

12 Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have arrived at Jerusalem and are now rebuilding this rebellious and evil city. They are raising up its walls, and the foundations have already been laid.

13 Now let it be known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are raised up again, they will no longer pay taxes, tributes, or tolls; thus it can only result in harm to the throne.

14 Now, since we partake of the salt of the palace, we ought not simply to look on while the king is being dishonored. Therefore we have sent this message to inform you, O king,

15 so that inquiry may be made in the historical records of your fathers. In the historical records you can discover and verify that this city is a rebellious city which has proved fatal to kings and provinces, and that sedition has been fostered there since ancient times. For that reason this city was destroyed.

16 We inform you, O king, that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are raised up again, by that very fact you will no longer own any part of West-of-Euphrates."

17 The king sent this answer: "To Rehum, the governor, Shimshai, the scribe, and their fellow officials living in Samaria and elsewhere in the province West-of-Euphrates, greetings and the following:

18 The communication which you sent us has been read plainly in my presence.

19 When at my command inquiry was made, it was verified that from ancient times this city has risen up against kings and that rebellion and sedition have been fostered there.

20 Powerful kings were once in Jerusalem who ruled over all West-of-Euphrates, and taxes, tributes, and tolls were paid to them.

21 Give orders, therefore, that will stop the work of these men. This city may not be rebuilt until a further decree has been issued by me.

22 Take care that you do not neglect this matter, lest the evil grow to the detriment of the throne."

23 As soon as a copy of King Artaxerxes' letter had been read before Rehum, the governor, Shimshai, the scribe, and their fellow officials, they went in all haste to the Jews in Jerusalem and stopped their work by force of arms.

24 Thus it was that the work on the house of God in Jerusalem was halted. This inaction lasted until the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia.

Three main means of hindering the work on the walls are given in this chapter.
[1] Separation challenged, v 1-3
[2] Weakened their hands by discouragement, v 4,5
[3] Accusations against them, v 6-24

v 1,2. The adversaries are Samaritans, the mixed race resulting from marriage of Jews not deported with people repopulated from other countries by Shalmanezer, king of Assyria, 2 Ki. 17:24. Some had filtered down to the Jerusalem area. They said they served the same God, and some did indeed worship at Jerusalem, but they had just added the name of God to that of their false gods, 2 Ki. 17:32,33.

v 3. The leaders of Jerusalem had been commissioned by Cyrus and recognized the value of separation, so did not allow union with their ungodly neighbors.

v 4,5. The Samaritans had feigned cooperation for political reasons and did not really want the work to proceed. Perhaps in jealousy, they now cause hindrances, perhaps by actual deeds or causing dissension. They went farther and hired advisors on how to obstruct them. (Today it would be zoning restrictions and building codes.) This continued from Cyrus, king of Persia, to Darius 2, king of Persia.
[Apparently these frustrations were not very effective during the time of Cyrus, but they were later. Verses 6-23 refer to that later  period and are out of context here. Ezra put them here to show the ongoing problems which were faced.] This insertion makes it difficult to place Artaxerxes, who came much later than Zerubbabel.

v 6-10. Opposition was strong and letters were written to Xerxes, (Ahasuerus of Esther’s day) and Artaxexes. Rehum, the commanding officer, and Shimshai, his secretary, were probably Persians who were conducting a review of the area and were persuaded to write this accusing letter with officials from other parts of the empire.

v 11-16. It is difficult to see this in a parenthetical portion, but the temple had been finished 515 BC, so  they did not want to see the walls built up. They reported correctly that Jerusalem had been a rebellious city. The Jews had vigorously defended their homes and had been subject to extended siege. In time past they had also ceased paying tribute when they thought they could get by with it. Opposition urged that the records be searched to back up their accusations. They implied they were only interested in the welfare of the king, that revenue and control would be lost in the entire area west of the Euphrates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 17-22. After the search was made, the king sent reply that at one time the kings over Jerusalem had indeed been mighty. This actually encouraged the Jews as they thought back to David and Solomon. His command that the building stop until he gave permission also left open the door of hope, that some day he would change. He is of course concerned that he does not lose revenue or territory. The order was changed in 444 BC and Nehemiah returned to rebuild the wall, Neh 2:1-9

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 23. The Jews may not have responded readily to the haste with which the  order was given, because the nations were prepared and did stop them by force. 

 

v 24. The narrative here picks up where it left off at verse five. Opposition had begun in the reign of Cyrus, and was not able to continue until the second year of Darius 2nd, 520 BC which would be 18 years after they left Babylon to rebuild the wall.