Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity were building a temple unto Jehovah, the God of Israel;
then they drew near to Zerubabbel, and to the heads of fathers' houses, and said unto them, Let us build with you; for we seek your God, as ye do; {Another reading is, yet we do not sacrifice since &c.}and we sacrifice unto him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assyria, who brought us up hither.
But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers' houses of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us in building a house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.
Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and {Or, terrified}troubled them in building,
and hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
And in the reign of {Or, Xerxes Hebrew: Ahashrerosh.}Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
And in the days of {Hebrew: Artahshashta.}Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the {Or, Aramaic.}Syrian character, and set forth in the {Or, Aramaic.}Syrian tongue.
{Chapter 4:8-6, 18 is in Aramaic.}Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort:
then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions, the Dinaites, and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites, the Elamites,
and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar brought over, and set in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the country beyond the River, and so forth.
This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants the men beyond the River, and so forth.
Be it known unto the king, that the Jews that came up from thee are come to us unto Jerusalem; they are building the rebellious and the bad city, and have finished the walls, and repaired the foundations.
Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and in the end it will be hurtful unto the kings.
Now because we eat the salt of the palace, and it is not meet for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore have we sent and certified the king;
that search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time; for which cause was this city laid waste.
We certify the king that, if this city be builded, and the walls finished, by this means thou shalt have no portion beyond the River.
Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and {Or, unto the rest beyond &c.}in the rest of the country beyond the River: Peace, and so forth.
The letter which ye sent unto us hath been {Or, translated}plainly read before me.
And I decreed, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein.
There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all the country beyond the River; and tribute, custom, and toll, was paid unto them.
Make ye now a decree to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until a decree shall be made by me.
And take heed that ye be not slack herein: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?
Then when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.
Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem; and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Querverweise zu Esra 4,15 Esra 4,15
Be it known unto the king, that the Jews that came up from thee are come to us unto Jerusalem; they are building the rebellious and the bad city, and have finished the walls, and repaired the foundations.
For through the anger of Jehovah did it come to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence.And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?
And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about.
wherein was written, It is reported among the nations, and {In er. 1 and elsewhere Geshem.}Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel; for which cause thou art building the wall: and thou wouldest be their king, according to these words.
Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden (now the Chaldeans were against the city round about); and the king went by the way of the Arabah.
And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not down, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.
But he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had made known to him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.
In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.
And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and {Or, separated}dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from those of every people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is not {Or, meet for the king}for the king's profit to suffer them.
For through the anger of Jehovah did it come to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence.And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about.
So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
In the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden; now the Chaldeans were against the city round about); and they went toward the Arabah.
But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.
Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he {Hebrew: spake judgements with him.}gave judgment upon him.
And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.
And he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.
Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, who stood before the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem.
And he burned the house of Jehovah, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even {Or, every great man's house}every great house, burned he with fire.
And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about.
Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the poorest of the people, and the residue of the people that were left in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the residue of the {Or, artificers}multitude.
But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.
And the pillars of brass that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house of Jehovah, did the Chaldeans break in pieces, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon.
The pots also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
And the cups, and the firepans, and the basins, and the pots, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the bowls—that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver,— the captain of the guard took away.
The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve brazen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made for the house of Jehovah—the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
And as for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a line of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow.
And a capital of brass was upon it; and the height of the one capital was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the capital round about, all of brass: and the second pillar also had like unto these, and pomegranates.
And there were ninety and six pomegranates {Or, on the outside Hebrew: towards the four winds.}on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network round about.
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold:
and out of the city he took an {Or, eunuch}officer that was set over the men of war; and seven men of them that saw the king's face, that were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city.
And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.
This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty;
in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons;
in the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.
And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison;
and he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon,
and changed his prison garments. And Jehoiachin did eat bread before him continually all the days of his life:
and for his allowance, there was a continual allowance given him by the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.
Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find occasion against Daniel as touching the kingdom; but they could find no occasion nor fault, forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.
Then these presidents and satraps {Or, came tumultuously (and so in verse 11:15)}assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.
All the presidents of the kingdom, the deputies and the satraps, the counsellors and the governors, have consulted together {Or, that the king should establish a statutue, and make &c.}to establish a royal statute, and to make a strong interdict, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
Now, O king, establish the interdict, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which {Aramaic: passeth not away.}altereth not.
Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the interdict.
And when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his chamber toward Jerusalem); and he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
Then these men assembled together, and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God.
Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king's interdict: Hast thou not signed an interdict, that every man that shall make petition unto any god or man within thirty days, save unto thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which {Aramaic: passeth not away.}altereth not.
Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the interdict that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.
And when they found them not, they dragged Jason and certain brethren before the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned {Greek: the inhabited earth.}the world upside down are come hither also;
whom Jason hath received: and these all act contrary to the decrees of Cæsar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.