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Ezra 4:1-24 — Opposition to the Rebuilding

Ezra.4.1-24

¹Now when the adversaries of the people of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the LORD, the God of Israel, ²they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers' households, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for like you we seek your God, and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.” ³But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of the fathers' households of Israel said to them, “You have no part with us in building a house for our God; rather, we alone will build it for the LORD, the God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.” ⁴Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and terrified them from building. ⁵They hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. ⁶And in the reign of Ahasuerus, at the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. ⁷And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The text of the letter was written in Aramaic script and translated into the Aramaic language . ⁸Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows: ⁹Then Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates—the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites, and the Elamites, ¹⁰and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria, and the rest of the region Beyond the River, and so forth. ¹¹This is a copy of the letter that they sent to him: "To King Artaxerxes: From your servants, the men of the region Beyond the River, and so forth. ¹²"Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have come to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city; they are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. ¹³"Now let it be known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, they will not pay tribute, custom duty, or toll, and the royal revenue will suffer. ¹⁴"Now because we eat the salt of the palace , and it is not fitting for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore we have sent and informed the king, ¹⁵"so that a search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. And you will discover in the book of the records and know that this city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, and that they have incited sedition within it from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed. ¹⁶“We inform the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, as a result you will have no possession in the region Beyond the River.” ¹⁷Then the king sent a reply: "To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates who dwell in Samaria and in the rest of the region Beyond the River: Greetings. And now: ¹⁸"The letter that you sent to us has been clearly read before me. ¹⁹"And I issued a decree, and a search was made, and it was found that this city has risen up against kings from ancient times, and that rebellion and sedition have been carried out in it. ²⁰"Mighty kings have also been over Jerusalem, ruling over the whole region Beyond the River, and tribute, custom duty, and toll were paid to them. ²¹"Now issue a decree to stop these men, so that this city will not be rebuilt until a decree is issued by me. ²²“And be careful not to be negligent in doing this. Why should damage increase to the detriment of the kings?” ²³Then, as soon as the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their associates, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews and stopped them by force of arms. ²⁴Then the work on the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it remained stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

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4/11/2026

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