Ezra 4

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building the Temple of Yahweh,God of Israel,	1 Now the enemies of Judah and of Benjamin heard that the sons of the captivity were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel.
2 they came to Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the heads of families and said, 'Let us help you build, for weresort to your God as you do and we have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria,who brought us here.'	2 And so, drawing near to Zerubbabel and to the leaders of the fathers, they said to them: “Let us build with you, for we seek your God just as you do. Behold, we have immolated victims to him from the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, who brought us here.”
3 Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other heads of Israelite families replied, 'It is out of the question that youshould join us in building a Temple for our God. We shal build for Yahweh, God of Israel, on our own, as KingCyrus king of Persia has commanded us.'	3 And Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of the fathers of Israel said to them: “It is not for you to build the house of our God with us. Instead, we alone shall build to the Lord our God, just as Cyrus, the king of the Persians, has commanded us.”
4 The people of the country then set about demoralising the people of Judah and deterring them frombuilding;	4 Therefore, it happened that the people of the land impeded the hands of the people of Judah, and they troubled them in building.
5 they also bribed counsellors against them to frustrate their purpose throughout the lifetime of Cyrus kingof Persia right on into the reign of Darius king of Persia.	5 Then they hired counselors against them, so that they might argue against their plan during all the days of Cyrus, king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius, king of the Persians.
6 In the reign of Xerxes, at the beginning of his reign, they drew up an accusation against the inhabitantsof Judah and Jerusalem.	6 And so, during the reign of Ahasuerus, at the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and of Jerusalem.
7 In the days of Artaxerxes, Mithredath, Tabeel and their other associates wrote to Artaxerxes king ofPersia against Jerusalem; the text of the letter was written in Aramaic writing and dialect.	7 And so, in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, and Tabeel, and the others who were in their council wrote to Artaxerxes, king of the Persians. Now the letter of accusation was written in Syriac, and was being read in the Syrian language.
8 Then Rehum the governor and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes, denouncingJerusalem as fol ows:	8 Rehum, the commander, and Shimshai, the scribe, wrote one letter from Jerusalem to king Artaxerxes, in this manner:
9 'From Rehum the governor and Shimshai the secretary and their other associates, the judges, thelegates, the Persian officials, the people of Uruk, Babylon and Susa -- that is, the Elamites-	9 “Rehum, the commander, and Shimshai, the scribe, and the rest of their counselors, the judges, and rulers, the officials, those from Persia, from Erech, from Babylonia, from Susa, the Dehavites, and the Elamites,
10 and the other peoples whom the great and il ustrious Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the towns ofSamaria and in the rest of Transeuphrates.'	10 and the rest of the nations, whom the great and glorious Osnappar transferred and caused to live in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the regions across the river in peace:
11 This is the text of the letter which they sent him: 'To King Artaxerxes, from your servants the people ofTranseuphrates:	11 to king Artaxerxes. (This is a copy of the letter, which they sent to him.) Your servants, the men who are across the river, send a greeting.
12 'May the king now please be informed that the Jews, who have come up from you to us, have arrivedin Jerusalem and are rebuilding the rebel ious and evil city; they have begun rebuilding the wal s and are layingthe foundations;	12 Let it be known to the king, that the Jews, who ascended from you to us, have arrived in Jerusalem, a rebellious and most wicked city, which they are building, constructing its ramparts and repairing the walls.
13 and now the king should be informed that once this city is rebuilt and the wal s are restored, they wilrefuse to pay tribute, tax or toll, thus the king will incur a loss;	13 And now let be it known to the king, that if this city will have been built up, and its walls repaired, they will not pay tribute, nor tax, nor yearly revenues, and this loss will affect even the kings.
14 and now, because we eat the palace salt, it is not proper for us to see this affront offered to the king;we therefore send this information to the king	14 But, remembering the salt that we have eaten in the palace, and because we are led to believe that it a crime to see the king harmed, we have therefore sent and reported to the king,
15 so that a search may be made in the archives of your ancestors: in which archives you will find andlearn that this city is a rebellious city, the bane of kings and provinces, and that sedition has been stirred upthere from ancient times; that is why this city was destroyed.	15 so that you may search in the books of the histories of your fathers, and you may find written in the records, and you may know that this city is a rebellious city, and that it is harmful to the kings and the provinces, and that wars were incited within it from the days of antiquity. For which reason also, the city itself was destroyed.
16 We inform the king that if this city is rebuilt and its wal s are restored, you wil soon have no territoriesleft in Transeuphrates.'	16 We report to the king that if this city will have been built, and its walls repaired, you will have no possession across the river.”
17 The king sent this reply: 'To Rehum the governor, to Shimshai the secretary, and to their otherassociates resident in Samaria and elsewhere in Transeuphrates: Greetings!	17 The king sent word to Rehum, the commander, and to Shimshai, the scribe, and to the rest who were in their council, to the inhabitants of Samaria, and to the others across the river, offering a greeting and peace.
18 'And now, the document which you sent us has been accurately translated for me,	18 “The accusation, which you have sent to us, has been read aloud before me.
19 and by my orders search has been made, and it has been found that this city has rebel ed against thekings in the past and that revolt and sedition have been contrived in it;	19 And it was commanded by me, and they searched and found that this city, from the days of antiquity, has rebelled against the kings, and that seditions and battles have been incited within it.
20 and that powerful kings have reigned in Jerusalem, governing the whole of Transeuphrates andexacting tribute, tax and tol ;	20 Then too, there have been very strong kings in Jerusalem, who also ruled over the entire region which is across the river. They have also taken tribute, and tax, and revenues.
21 now give orders for these men to cease work; this city is not to be rebuilt until I give the order.	21 Now therefore, hear the sentence: Prohibit those men, so that this city may be not built, until perhaps there may be further orders from me.
22 Beware of acting negligently in this matter. Why should the harm grow, to endanger the king?'	22 See to it that you are not negligent in fulfilling this, otherwise, little by little, the evil may increase against the kings.”
23 As soon as the text of King Artaxerxes' document had been read to Rehum the governor, Shimshai thesecretary and their associates, they hurried to the Jews in Jerusalem and stopped their work by force of arms.	23 And so a copy of the edict of king Artaxerxes was read before Rehum, the commander, and Shimshai, the scribe, and their counselors. And they went away hurriedly to Jerusalem, to the Jews. And they prohibited them by force and by strength.
24 Work on the Temple of God in Jerusalem then ceased, and was discontinued until the second year ofthe reign of Darius King of Persia.	24 Then the work of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem was interrupted, and it did not resume until the second year of the reign of Darius, the king of the Persians.