1 The enemies of the people of Judah and Benjamin heard that those who had returned from exile were rebuilding the Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel. 2 2 K 17.24-41So they went to see Zerubbabeland the heads of the clans and said, "Let us join you in building the Temple. We worship the same God you worship, and we have been offering sacrifices to him ever since Emperor Esarhaddonof Assyriasent us here to live."
3 Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the heads of the clans told them, "We don’t need your help to build a temple for the Lordour God. We will build it ourselves, just as Emperor Cyrusof Persiacommanded us."
4 Then the people who had been living in the land tried to discourage and frighten the Jews and keep them from building. 5 They also bribed Persiangovernment officials to work against them. They kept on doing this throughout the reign of Emperor Cyrusand into the reign of Emperor Darius.4.5: emperor Darius: The account of these events is continued at verse 24. The material in verses 6-23 describes events which took place almost a century later.
Opposition to the Rebuilding of Jerusalem
6 Gk Est 1.1At the beginning of the reign of Emperor Xerxes, the enemies of the people living in Judah and Jerusalembrought written charges against them.
7 Again in the reign of Emperor Artaxerxesof Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their associates wrote a letter to the emperor. The letter was written in Aramaic4.7: Aramaic: From 4.8 to 6.18 this book is not in Hebrew, but Aramaic, the official language of the Persian Empire.and was to be translated when read.4.7: The letter … read; or It was in Aramaic and was written in the Aramaic script.
8 Also Rehum, the governor, and Shimshai, the secretary of the province, wrote the following letter to Emperor Artaxerxesabout Jerusalem:
9 "From Rehum, the governor, from Shimshai, secretary of the province, from their associates, the judges, and from all the other officials, who are originally from Erech, Babylon, and Susain the land of Elam, 10 together with the other peoples whom the great and powerful Ashurbanipal moved from their homes and settled in the city of Samariaand elsewhere in West-of-Euphrates Province."4.10: west-of-Euphrates province: Under Persian rule the land of Judah was part of this large Persian province west of the Euphrates River.
11 This is the text of the letter:
"To Emperor Artaxerxesfrom his servants who live in West-of-Euphrates.
12 "We want Your Majesty to know that the Jews who came here from your other territories have settled in Jerusalemand are rebuilding that evil and rebellious city. They have begun to rebuild the walls and will soon finish them. 13 Your Majesty, if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, the people will stop paying taxes, and your royal revenues will decrease. 14 Now, because we are under obligation to Your Majesty, we do not want to see this happen, and so we suggest 15 that you order a search to be made in the records your ancestors kept. If you do, you will discover that this city has always been rebellious and that from ancient times it has given trouble to kings and to rulers of provinces. Its people have always been hard to govern. This is why the city was destroyed. 16 We therefore are convinced that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, Your Majesty will no longer be able to control West-of-Euphrates Province."
17 The emperor sent this answer:
"To Rehum, the governor, to Shimshai, secretary of the province, and to their associates who live in Samariaand in the rest of West-of-Euphrates, greetings.
18 "The letter which you sent has been translated and read to me. 19 I gave orders for an investigation to be made, and it has indeed been found that from ancient times Jerusalemhas revolted against royal authority and that it has been full of rebels and troublemakers. 20 Powerful kings have reigned there and have ruled over the entire province of West-of-Euphrates, collecting taxes and revenue. 21 Therefore you are to issue orders that those men are to stop rebuilding the city until I give further commands. 22 Do this at once, so that no more harm may be done to my interests."
23 As soon as this letter from Emperor Artaxerxeswas read to Rehum, Shimshai, and their associates, they hurried to Jerusalemand forced the Jews to stop rebuilding the city.
Work on the Temple Begins Again
24 Hg 1.1;Zec 1.1Work on the Temple had been stopped and had remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of Emperor Dariusof Persia.
Pessoa
Tribo de Judah
Zerubbabel
זְרֻבָּבֶלzərubabelΖοροβαβελZorobabel
Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, returned from captivity to Jerusalem with Jeshua and began to rebuild the temple of God; in the time of Haggai the prophet, he was governor of Judah (Haggai 2:2).
Assyria is the land whose kings took Galilee and Naphtali, besieged Samaria for three years, and deported Israel to Halah, Habor, and Gozan. Sennacherib, its king, sent servants to Hezekiah in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 32:9).
Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, returned from captivity to Jerusalem with Jeshua and began to rebuild the temple of God; in the time of Haggai the prophet, he was governor of Judah (Haggai 2:2).
Cyrus, king of Persia, decreed the return of the exiled Jews and the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, and returned the vessels taken by Nebuchadnezzar (Ezra 1:2).
Persia is the kingdom of Cyrus, the king who said that the Lord, the God of heaven, had given him all the kingdoms of the earth and the task of building a temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:2).
Persia is the kingdom of Cyrus, the king who said that the Lord, the God of heaven, had given him all the kingdoms of the earth and the task of building a temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:2).
Cyrus, king of Persia, decreed the return of the exiled Jews and the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, and returned the vessels taken by Nebuchadnezzar (Ezra 1:2).
Darius, king of Persia, ordered a search for the decree of Cyrus and authorized the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, which was finished in the sixth year of his reign (Ezra 6:15).
Ahasuerus, the king of Persia who reigned from India to Ethiopia, deposed Queen Vashti, made Esther queen, and at Esther’s request had Haman hanged (Esther 1:1).
Jerusalem is the city of the house of God, where children of Judah and Benjamin lived; the Babylonian army broke down the walls of the city (2 Kings 25:10).
Persia is the kingdom of Cyrus, the king who said that the Lord, the God of heaven, had given him all the kingdoms of the earth and the task of building a temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:2).
Jerusalem is the city of the house of God, where children of Judah and Benjamin lived; the Babylonian army broke down the walls of the city (2 Kings 25:10).
Susa is the citadel where the Jew Mordecai lived, where the edict for the annihilation of the Jews was published, and where the Jews killed five hundred men (Esther 9:6).
Elam is a land whose king, Chedorlaomer, was among four kings at war against five; the Lord declared he would break the bow of Elam and restore the fortunes of Elam in days to come (Jeremiah 49:39).
Jerusalem is the city of the house of God, where children of Judah and Benjamin lived; the Babylonian army broke down the walls of the city (2 Kings 25:10).
Jerusalem is the city of the house of God, where children of Judah and Benjamin lived; the Babylonian army broke down the walls of the city (2 Kings 25:10).
Jerusalem is the city of the house of God, where children of Judah and Benjamin lived; the Babylonian army broke down the walls of the city (2 Kings 25:10).
Darius, king of Persia, ordered a search for the decree of Cyrus and authorized the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, which was finished in the sixth year of his reign (Ezra 6:15).
Persia is the kingdom of Cyrus, the king who said that the Lord, the God of heaven, had given him all the kingdoms of the earth and the task of building a temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:2).