Enemies Oppose the Father's House
Neighbors offer to help build and are refused, so they turn to sabotage: discouraging the workers, hiring officials, and finally writing the Persian king that Jerusalem is a rebel city. The archive search backs them, and work on our Father's house stops by force for years.
4 1When Judah and Benjamin's enemies heard the returned exiles were building our Father a temple, 2They came to Zerubbabel and the family heads and said, "Let us build with you — we seek your God as you do, and have sacrificed to him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here."
3But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and Israel's other family heads said to them, "You have no part with us in building a house for our Father. We alone will build for our Father, as King Cyrus of Persia commanded us."
4Then the land's people weakened Judah's people's hands, terrifying them from building. 5They paid off advisers to work against them and undercut their plan, all through Cyrus king of Persia's reign to Darius king of Persia's reign. 6Early in Ahasuerus's reign, they wrote an accusation against the residents of Judah and Jerusalem.
A Letter Against the Father's People
7In Artaxerxes' reign, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their colleagues wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; 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: 9Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues — the judges, officials, and administrators over the people of Erech, the Babylonians, and the people of Susa (that is, the Elamites), 10and the other nations that great, noble Osnappar deported and settled in the city of Samaria and the rest of the province Beyond the River. a a v10 The province Beyond the River was the Persian district west of the Euphrates River, covering Syria and the lands around Judah.
11Copy of the letter sent to him: "To King Artaxerxes, from your servants, the people of the province Beyond the River. And now, 12Let the king know: the Jews who came up from you to us have reached Jerusalem. They're rebuilding that rebellious, wicked city, finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 13The king should know: if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, they will pay no tribute, tax, or toll, and the royal treasury will suffer loss. 14Since we depend on the palace for our living, and it's not right for us to see the king disrespected, we send word to inform the king, b b v14 To "eat the salt of the palace" meant to be in the king's service and bound to him in loyalty. 15so that a search may be made in the records of your ancestors. In those records you will find this city rebellious, harmful to kings and provinces, stirring revolt since ancient times—destroyed for that reason. 16We inform the king: if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will have no portion in Beyond the River."
17The king replied: To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues in Samaria and the rest of Beyond the River: Greetings. Now then, 18the letter you sent us has been read aloud and translated to me. 19I ordered a search, and found this city has long risen against kings, stirring rebellion and revolt. 20Powerful kings ruled Jerusalem, governed all Beyond the River, and received tribute, tax, and toll. 21Now order these men to stop, so this city is not rebuilt until I command it. 22Don't neglect this matter. Why should this threat grow and harm the interests of the kings?
23Once the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read to Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their associates, they rushed to the Jews in Jerusalem and stopped them by force and power. 24So work on the house of our Father in Jerusalem stopped and stayed stopped, until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
