Ezra 4:14 - Prayer Tents



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Ezra 4
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Opposition to the Rebuilding of the Temple

4The 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.H6862H3063H1144H8085H1121H1473H1129H1964H3068H430H3478 2So they went to see Zerubbabel and 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 Esarhaddon of Assyria sent us here to live."H5066H2216H7218H1H559H1129H1875H430H2076H3117H634H4428H804H5927 3Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the heads of the clans told them, "We don't need your help to build a temple for the LORD our God. We will build it ourselves, just as Emperor Cyrus of Persia commanded us."H2216H3442H7605H7218H1H3478H559H1129H1004H430H3162H1129H3068H430H3478H4428H3566H4428H6539H6680 4Then the people who had been living in the land tried to discourage and frighten the Jews and keep them from building.H5971H776H7503H3027H5971H3063H926H1089H1129 5They also bribed Persian government officials to work against them. They kept on doing this throughout the reign of Emperor Cyrus and into the reign of Emperor Darius.H7936H3289H6565H6098H3117H3566H4428H6539H4438H1867H4428H6539

Opposition to the Rebuilding of Jerusalem

6At the beginning of the reign of Emperor Xerxes, the enemies of the people living in Judah and Jerusalem brought written charges against them.H4438H325H8462H4438H3789H7855H3427H3063H3389 7Again in the reign of Emperor Artaxerxes of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their associates wrote a letter to the emperor. The letter was written in Aramaic and was to be translated when read.H3117H783H3789H1312H4990H2870H7605H3674H783H4428H6539H3791H5406H3789H762H8638H762 8Also Rehum, the governor, and Shimshai, the secretary of the province, wrote the following letter to Emperor Artaxerxes about Jerusalem:H7348H1169H2942H8124H5613H3790H2298H104H5922H3390H783H4430H3660 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 Susa in the land of Elam,H116H7348H1169H2942H8124H5613H7606H3675H1784H671H2967H670H756H896H7801H1723H5962 10together with the other peoples whom the great and powerful Ashurbanipal moved from their homes and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in West-of-Euphrates Province."H7606H524H1768H7229H3358H620H1541H3488H1994H7149H8115H7606H5675H5103H3706 11This is the text of the letter: "To Emperor Artaxerxes from his servants who live in West-of-Euphrates.H1836H6573H104H1768H7972H5922H783H4430H5649H606H5675H5103H3706 12"We want Your Majesty to know that the Jews who came here from your other territories have settled in Jerusalem and are rebuilding that evil and rebellious city. They have begun to rebuild the walls and will soon finish them.H1934H3046H4430H3062H1768H5559H4481H3890H5922H858H3390H1124H4779H873H7149H3635H3635H7792H2338H787 13Your Majesty, if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, the people will stop paying taxes, and your royal revenues will decrease.H3046H1934H3705H4430H2006H1791H7149H1124H7792H3635H3809H5415H4061H1093H1983H5142H674H4430 14Now, because we are under obligation to Your Majesty, we do not want to see this happen, and so we suggestH3705H6903H3606H1768H4415H4416H1965H3809H749H2370H4430H6173H5922H1836H7972H3046H4430 15that 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.H1240H5609H1799H2H7912H5609H1799H3046H1791H7149H4779H7149H5142H4430H4083H5648H849H1459H4481H5957H3118H5922H1836H1791H7149H2718 16We 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."H586H3046H4430H2006H1791H7149H1124H7792H3635H1836H6903H383H3809H2508H5675H5103 17The emperor sent this answer: "To Rehum, the governor, to Shimshai, secretary of the province, and to their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of West-of-Euphrates, greetings.H7972H4430H6600H5922H7348H1169H2942H8124H5613H7606H3675H3488H8115H7606H5675H5103H8001H3706 18"The letter which you sent has been translated and read to me.H5407H7972H5922H6568H7123H6925 19I gave orders for an investigation to be made, and it has indeed been found that from ancient times Jerusalem has revolted against royal authority and that it has been full of rebels and troublemakers.H4481H7761H2942H1240H7912H1791H7149H4481H5957H3118H5376H5922H4430H4776H849H5648 20Powerful kings have reigned there and have ruled over the entire province of West-of-Euphrates, collecting taxes and revenue.H1934H8624H4430H5922H3390H7990H3606H5675H5103H4061H1093H1983H3052 21Therefore you are to issue orders that those men are to stop rebuilding the city until I give further commands.H7761H3705H2942H989H479H1400H989H1791H7149H3809H1124H5705H2941H7761H4481 22Do this at once, so that no more harm may be done to my interests."H1934H2095H7960H5922H5648H1836H4101H2257H7680H5142H4430 23As soon as this letter from Emperor Artaxerxes was read to Rehum, Shimshai, and their associates, they hurried to Jerusalem and forced the Jews to stop rebuilding the city.H116H4481H1768H6573H4430H783H5407H7123H6925H7348H8124H5613H3675H236H924H3390H5922H3062H1994H989H153H2429

Work on the Temple Begins Again

24Work on the Temple had been stopped and had remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of Emperor Darius of Persia.H116H989H5673H1005H426H3390H1934H989H5705H8648H8140H4437H1868H4430H6540


Good News Translation. Scripture taken from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version- Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission. More details.
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