Sep 19 Ezra 4-6, Ps 137
Resistance
to Rebuilding the Temple
4 Now when
the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the
captivity were building the temple of 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 seek your God as you do; and
we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who
brought us here.” 3 But
Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of
Israel said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God;
but we alone will build to the Lord God
of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” 4 Then the people of the land
tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, 5 and hired counselors
against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia,
even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Rebuilding
of Jerusalem Opposed
6 In the
reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation
against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
7 In the
days of Artaxerxes also, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabel, and the rest of their
companions wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the letter was written
in Aramaic script, and translated into the Aramaic language. 8 Rehum[a] the
commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King
Artaxerxes in this fashion:
9 From[b] Rehum
the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions—representatives of
the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the people of Persia and
Erech and Babylon and Shushan,[c] the
Dehavites, the Elamites, 10 and the rest of the nations
whom the great and noble Osnapper took captive and settled in the cities of
Samaria and the remainder beyond the River[d] —and
so forth.[e]
11 (This is a
copy of the letter that they sent him)
12 Let it be known to the king
that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem, and are
building the rebellious and evil city, and are finishing its walls
and repairing the foundations. 13 Let it now be known to the
king that, if this city is built and the walls completed, they will not pay
tax, tribute, or custom, and the king’s treasury will be diminished. 14 Now because we receive
support from the palace, it was not proper for us to see the king’s dishonor;
therefore we have sent and informed the king, 15 that search may be made in
the book of the records of your fathers. And you will find in the book of the
records and know that this city is a rebellious city, harmful
to kings and provinces, and that they have incited sedition within the city in
former times, for which cause this city was destroyed.
16 We inform the king that if
this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, the result will be that you
will have no dominion beyond the River.
17 The king sent an answer:
To Rehum the commander, to Shimshai the
scribe, to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria,
and to the remainder beyond the River:
18 The letter which you sent
to us has been clearly read before me. 19 And I gave the command, and
a search has been made, and it was found that this city in former times has
revolted against kings, and rebellion and sedition have been fostered in
it. 20 There
have also been mighty kings over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all the
region beyond the River; and tax, tribute, and custom were paid to
them. 21 Now give
the command to make these men cease, that this city may not be built until the
command is given by me.
22 Take heed now that you do
not fail to do this. Why should damage increase to the hurt of the kings?
23 Now when the copy of King
Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, Shimshai the scribe,
and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem against the Jews, and
by force of arms made them cease. 24 Thus the work of the house
of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued
until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Restoration
of the Temple Resumed
5 Then the
prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews
who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of
Israel, who was over them. 2 So Zerubbabel the son of
Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak[h] rose
up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem;
and the prophets of God were with them, helping them.
3 At the
same time Tattenai the governor of the region beyond the River[i] and Shethar-Boznai
and their companions came to them and spoke thus to them: “Who has commanded
you to build this temple and finish this wall?” 4 Then, accordingly, we told
them the names of the men who were constructing this building. 5 But the eye of their God
was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a
report could go to Darius. Then a written answer was returned concerning
this matter. 6 This is a copy of the
letter that Tattenai sent:
The governor of the region beyond the River, and
Shethar-Boznai, and his companions, the Persians who were in the region beyond
the River, to Darius the king.
7 (They sent a letter to him,
in which was written thus)
To Darius the king:
All
peace.
8 Let it be known to the king
that we went into the province of Judea, to the temple of the great God, which
is being built with heavy stones, and timber is being laid in the walls; and
this work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands.
9 Then we asked those
elders, and spoke thus to them: “Who commanded you to build
this temple and to finish these walls?” 10 We also asked them their
names to inform you, that we might write the names of the men who were chief
among them.
11 And thus they returned us
an answer, saying: “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we
are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of
Israel built and completed. 12 But because our fathers
provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed
this temple and carried the people away to Babylon. 13 However, in the first year
of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to build this house of
God. 14 Also, the
gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken
from the temple that was in Jerusalem and carried into the
temple of Babylon—those King Cyrus took from the temple of Babylon, and they
were given to one named Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor.15 And he said to him, ‘Take
these articles; go, carry them to the temple site that is in
Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its former site.’ 16 Then the same Sheshbazzar
came and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in
Jerusalem; but from that time even until now it has been under construction,
and it is not finished.”
17 Now therefore, if it
seems good to the king, let a search be made in the king’s treasure
house, which is there in Babylon, whether it is so that
a decree was issued by King Cyrus to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and
let the king send us his pleasure concerning this matter.
The
Decree of Darius
6 Then King
Darius issued a decree, and a search was made in the archives,[j] where the treasures
were stored in Babylon. 2 And at Achmetha,[k] in the palace
that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found, and in
it a record was written thus:
3 In the
first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree concerning the
house of God at Jerusalem: “Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they
offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height
sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, 4 with three
rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the expenses be paid from
the king’s treasury. 5 Also let the gold and
silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple
which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and
taken back to the temple which is in Jerusalem, each to
its place; and deposit them in the house of God”—
6 Now therefore, Tattenai,
governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai,
and your companions the Persians who are beyond the River,
keep yourselves far from there.7 Let the work of this house
of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build
this house of God on its site.
8 Moreover I issue a
decree as to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews,
for the building of this house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king’s
expense from taxes on the region beyond the River; this is to
be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered. 9 And whatever they
need—young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven,
wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests who are in
Jerusalem—let it be given them day by day without fail, 10 that they may offer
sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the
king and his sons.
11 Also I issue a decree that
whoever alters this edict, let a timber be pulled from his house and erected,
and let him be hanged on it; and let his house be made a refuse heap because of
this. 12 And may
the God who causes His name to dwell there destroy any king or people who put
their hand to alter it, or to destroy this house of God which is in Jerusalem.
I Darius issue a decree; let it be done diligently.
The
Temple Completed and Dedicated
13 Then
Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River,
Shethar-Boznai, and their companions diligently did according to what King
Darius had sent. 14 So the
elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai
the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according
to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus,
Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15 Now the temple was finished
on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign
of King Darius. 16 Then the
children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the descendants
of the captivity, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with
joy. 17 And they
offered sacrifices at the dedication of this house of God, one hundred bulls,
two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel
twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. 18 They assigned the priests
to their divisions and the Levites to their divisions, over the service of God
in Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.
The
Passover Celebrated
19 And the
descendants of the captivity kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of
the first month. 20 For the
priests and the Levites had purified themselves; all of them were
ritually clean. And they slaughtered the Passover lambs for
all the descendants of the captivity, for their brethren the priests, and for
themselves. 21 Then the
children of Israel who had returned from the captivity ate together with all
who had separated themselves from the filth of the nations of the land in order
to seek the Lord God of
Israel. 22 And they
kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for the Lord made them joyful, and turned
the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the
work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
Longing for
Zion in a Foreign Land
137 By the
rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down, yea, we wept
When we remembered Zion.
2 We hung our harps
Upon the willows in the midst of it.
3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song,
And those who plundered us requested mirth,
Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
There we sat down, yea, we wept
When we remembered Zion.
2 We hung our harps
Upon the willows in the midst of it.
3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song,
And those who plundered us requested mirth,
Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How shall
we sing the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget its skill!
6 If I do not remember you,
Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth—
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
In a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget its skill!
6 If I do not remember you,
Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth—
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
7 Remember,
O Lord, against
the sons of Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, “Raze it, raze it,
To its very foundation!”
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, “Raze it, raze it,
To its very foundation!”
8 O
daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed,
Happy the one who repays you as you have served us!
9 Happy the one who takes and dashes
Your little ones against the rock!
Happy the one who repays you as you have served us!
9 Happy the one who takes and dashes
Your little ones against the rock!
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