Ezra 4

1 When the enemies [adversaries, haters] of Judah [the tribe descended from Judah, son of Jacob] and Benjamin [son of the right hand, the youngest son of Jacob] heard that the exiles [children of the captivity, those taken away] were building [constructing, establishing] a temple [a large public building, the house of God] for the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God], the God [Elohim, the one supreme God] of Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, the descendants of Jacob], word study 2 they approached [drew near, came to] Zerubbabel and the heads [chiefs, leaders] of the families, saying, “Let us build [construct, establish] with you because, like you, we seek [worship, inquire of] your God [Elohim, the supreme Creator] and have been sacrificing [offering, making atonement] to Him since the time of King Esar-haddon [Esarhaddon, Ashur has given a brother] of Assyria, who brought us here [to this place, hither].” word study 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other heads [chiefs, leaders] of the families of Israel replied, “You have no part [nothing to do, no share] with us in building [constructing, establishing] a house [temple, dwelling place] for our God [Elohim, the supreme Creator], since we alone [only we, by ourselves] must build [construct, establish] it for the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God], the God [Elohim, the one true God] of Israel, as Cyrus king [ruler, monarch] of Persia has commanded [given orders, appointed] us.” word study 4 Then the people [inhabitants, natives] of the land [earth, territory] set out to [intentionally, deliberately] discourage [weaken, dishearten] the people of Judah [the tribe, nation] and make them afraid [terrify, intimidate] to build [construct, establish]. word study 5 They hired [bribed, to persuade against] counselors [advisers, to frustrate plans] against them to frustrate [to break, thwart] their plans [purposes, counsel] throughout the reign [royal power, kingdom] of Cyrus [the Persian king, ruler] king of Persia [the ancient empire, land] and down to [until, as far as] the reign [royalty, rule] of Darius [the king’s title, ruler] king of Persia [the land, territory]. word study 6 At the beginning [in the early years, at the start] of the reign [royal power, kingdom] of Xerxes [Ahasuerus, a powerful king], an accusation [a written complaint, opposition] was lodged [written, recorded] against the people [inhabitants, dwellers] of Judah [the tribe of Judah, the southern kingdom] and Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital]. word study 7 And in the days [of royal reign, period of rule] of Artaxerxes [Persian king, ruler of the empire] king of Persia [ancient empire, vast territory], Bishlam [peaceful, tranquil], Mithredath [given by Mithra, devoted to the God], Tabeel [God is good, divine benevolence], and the rest [remainder, surviving companions] of his associates [companions, colleagues, those who share a title] wrote [recorded, inscribed] a letter [written message, epistle] to Artaxerxes. It was written [inscribed, recorded] in Aramaic [Syrian language, tongue of the Arameans] and then translated [interpreted, explained]. word study 8 Rehum [high commissioner] the commander [lord, high-ranking official] and Shimshai [provincial secretary] the scribe [one who writes or copies documents] wrote [to put thoughts or ideas into written form] the letter [a written message] against Jerusalem [the city of peace, teaching of peace] to King [ruler, monarch] Artaxerxes [a title given to Persian kings] as follows [in this manner, thus]: word study 9 From Rehum [having authority] the commander, Shimshai [a secretary] the scribe, and the rest of their associates [companions, fellow officials]—the judges [rulers of a province] and officials [governors, those in charge] over Tripolis [a city in Persia], Persia [a region, the land of the Persians], Erech [an important city, Archevite territory] and Babylon [a city and empire, a center of confusion], the Elamites [inhabitants of Elam, a distinct people group] of Susa [the city of lilies, Shushan], word study 10 and the rest [remainder, what is left] of the peoples [nations, communities] whom the great [powerful, abundant] and honorable [noble, famous] Ashurbanipal [Asnappar] deported [removed, took into exile] and settled [caused to dwell, made to live] in the cities [towns] of Samaria [the watch mountain, northern kingdom of Israel] and elsewhere [beyond, on the other side] west of the Euphrates [the river, a flowing body of water]. word study 11 (This is the text [copy, transcript] of the letter [written message] they sent to him.) To King [ruler, monarch] Artaxerxes [a title given to Persian kings], From your servants [those who serve, slaves], the men [human beings, people] west [beyond, on the other side] of the Euphrates [a major river]: word study 12 Let it be known [to inform, to certify] to the king [the ruler] that the Jews [those from the tribe of Judah, the chosen people] who came from you to us have returned [to come back, to arrive] to Jerusalem [the city of peace, the holy city]. And they are rebuilding [to construct, to restore] that rebellious [resisting authority] and wicked [bad, morally wrong] city, restoring [to bring back, to renew] its walls [the barriers, the defenses], and repairing [to fix, to mend] its foundations [the base, the starting point]. word study 13 Let it now [at this time, currently] be known to the king [ruler, monarch] that if that city [town, urban area] is rebuilt [restored, reconstructed] and its walls [barriers, fortifications] are restored [finished, completed], they will not pay [give, provide] tribute [tax, payment], duty [custom, toll], or toll [tax on goods], and the royal [king’s, monarch’s] treasury [revenue, income] will suffer [be injured, experience loss]. word study 14 Now [at this time, in the present] because we are in the service [as loyal attendants, eating the salt] of the palace [the king’s royal court, the temple] and it is not fitting [proper, suitable] for us to allow the king [the monarch, the ruler] to be dishonored [disrespected, shamed, seen in a state of vulnerability], we have sent [dispatched, certified] to inform the king [to make known, to let him know] word study 15 that a search [investigation, inquiry] should be made of the record books [scrolls, written archives] of your fathers [ancestors, forefathers]. In these books you will discover [find, uncover] and verify [confirm, know] that the city is a rebellious [insubordinate, defiant] city, harmful [causing injury, destructive] to kings [rulers, monarchs] and provinces [regions, territories], inciting [stirring up, fomenting] sedition [rebellion, revolt] from ancient times [of old, long ago]. That is why [for this reason, therefore] this city was destroyed [laid waste, devastated]. word study 16 We advise [inform, certify] the king [ruler, monarch] that if this city [town, urban area] is rebuilt [restored, constructed] and its walls [barriers, fortifications] are restored [finished, completed], you will have no dominion [control, authority] west of the Euphrates [beyond the river, on the other side]. word study 17 Then the king [ruler, monarch] sent this reply: To Rehum [compassionate one] the commander [high-ranking official, leader], Shimshai [Samaritan scribe] the scribe [secretary, record-keeper], and the rest [remainder, those who are left] of your associates [companions, colleagues] living [dwelling, residing] in Samaria [watch mountain, northern region] and elsewhere [beyond, on the other side] in the region [province, territory] west of the Euphrates [major river]: Greetings [peace, prosperity, shalom]. word study 18 The letter [document, official paper] you sent [dispatched, conveyed] us has been translated [made clear, interpreted] and read [proclaimed, called out loud] in my presence [before me, in my sight]. word study 19 I issued a decree [and commanded], and a search [to enquire, to carefully examine] was conducted [made, performed]. It was discovered [found, uncovered] that this city [town, urban area] has revolted [made insurrection, lifted up itself] against kings [rulers, monarchs] from ancient times [of old, from the days of old], engaging in rebellion [resistance, defiance] and sedition [revolt, uprising]. word study 20 And mighty [powerful, strong] kings [rulers, monarchs] have ruled over Jerusalem [the city of peace, teaching of peace] and exercised authority [dominion, control] over the whole region [area, territory] west of the Euphrates [the main river of Babylon]; and tribute [tax, payment], duty [custom, toll], and toll [fee, tax on goods] were paid to them. word study 21 Now [at this time, currently], therefore, issue [make a decree, give a command] an order [command, instruction] for these [specific] men [people, individuals] to stop [cease, come to an end], so that this [particular] city [town, urban area] will not [under no circumstances] be rebuilt [constructed, restored] until [as far as, up to the point when] I so [in this manner, thus] order [command, decree]. word study 22 See that you do not [neglect or fail to attend to] neglect this matter [of great importance]. Why allow this threat [or problem, damage] to increase [or grow great, be multiplied] and the royal interests [or the king’s affairs, concerns] to suffer [or be hurt, experience loss]? word study 23 When the text [copy, transcript] of the letter from King [ruler, monarch] Artaxerxes [a title given to several Persian kings] was read [proclaimed, called out loud] to Rehum, Shimshai the scribe [secretary, record-keeper], and their associates [companions, colleagues], they went [departed, proceeded] immediately [hastily, in haste] to the Jews [people from the tribe of Judah] in Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital of Judah] and forcibly [with force, by strength] stopped [ceased, made to stop] them. word study 24 Thus the construction [building, work] of the house [temple, sanctuary] of God [Elohim, the supreme Deity] in Jerusalem [the city of peace, teaching of peace] ceased [stopped, came to an end], and it remained [stood still, was at a standstill] at a standstill [in a state of inactivity] until the second [two, dual] year of the reign [kingdom, rule] of Darius [the king of kings, a title for Persian monarchs] king of Persia [the land of the Persians, a vast empire]. word study