Ezra 04
The Samaritans accuse the Jews to King Artaxerxes and the building of the temple is prohibited
1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building the temple to the Lord God of Israel,
2 They came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers' houses and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we will seek your God as you do, as we have sacrificed to him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Asshur, who brought us here."
3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the other heads of the fathers' houses of Israel said to them, "It is not right that you and we should build a house to our God; but we alone will build it to the Lord God of Israel, as Cyrus king of Persia commanded us."
4 But the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah and made them uneasy in building.
5 And they hired counselors against them to frustrate their plan, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
6 And under the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
7 And in the days of Artaxerxes Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their company, wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the letter was written in Syriac characters, and in the Syriac language.
8 So Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes, in this manner.
9 Then Rehum the chancellor, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of his company wrote: the Dinaites, the Apharzachites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archivists, the Babylonians, the Sunsankites, the Deavites, the Elamites,
10 and other peoples whom the great and renowned Ashnappar carried away and settled in the city of Samaria, and the rest beyond the River, at such and such a time.
11 This is the letter they sent to King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the men beyond the River, at such and such a time.
12 Let the king know that the Jews who came up from you have come to us to Jerusalem and have rebuilt that rebellious and wicked city, and are repairing its walls and repairing its foundations.
13 Now let the king know that if that city is rebuilt and the walls are repaired, they will not pay the duties, taxes, and revenues; and so the king's wealth will be ruined.
14 Now therefore, since we are hired servants of the palace, and it is not fitting for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore we have sent word to the king.
15 So that he may search in the book of the chronicles of your fathers, and then you will find in the book of the chronicles, and you will know that that was a rebellious city, and a troublemaker to the kings and provinces, and that there was rebellion in it in the old days; therefore that city was destroyed.
16 Therefore we make it known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are repaired, in this way you will have no portion on this side of the River.
17 And the king sent this answer to Rehum the chancellor, and to Shishai the scribe, and to the rest of their company that dwelt in Samaria, and to the rest of them that were beyond the River: Peace! And at such a time.
18 The letter that you sent us was plainly read before me.
19 And when I commanded, they sought, and found that of old time this city had risen up against kings, and that rebellion and sedition had been made therein.
20 And there were mighty kings over Jerusalem, who ruled over every place beyond the River, and they paid them dues, tributes, and revenues.
21 Now therefore command those men to stop, that the city be not built, until an order be given by me.
22 And beware of doing wrong in this matter: why should you increase the damage to the hurt of kings?
23 So when the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter had been read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they hurried to Jerusalem to the Jews and stopped them by force and violence.
24 Then the work on the house of God in Jerusalem ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
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