- 1Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel;
- 2Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.
- 3But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.
- 4Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,
- 5And 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.
- 6And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
- 7 And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.
- 8Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort:
- 9Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions; the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites,
- 10And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnappar brought over, and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest that are on this side the river, and at such a time.
- 11 This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king; Thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time.
- 12Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations.
- 13Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings.
- 14Now because we have maintenance from the king’s palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king’s dishonour, therefore have we sent and certified the king;
- 15That 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 destroyed.
- 16We certify the king that, if this city be builded again, and the walls thereof set up, by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side the river.
- 17 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 unto the rest beyond the river, Peace, and at such a time.
- 18The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.
- 19And I commanded, 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.
- 20There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them.
- 21Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me.
- 22Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?
- 23 Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.
- 24Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
KING JAMES VERSION
EZRA 4
Read the chapter, follow a linked verse, and continue into related Watchman 33 teaching.
CHAPTER VISUAL
Ezra 4 — Opposition, accusation, and imperial pressure frustrate the rebuilding until the work on God’s house is forced to stop.
About this illustration
The chapter telescopes opposition across multiple Persian reigns; the image centers its final effect on the halted work. The letter remains unreadable and no ethnic group is visually stereotyped.
Scripture basis: Ezra 4:1–24King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom
EXPLORE THE MESSAGE
Related Watchman 33 Resources
Archaeological Evidence
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
Fifth century BC, principally circa 495–399 BC
Elephantine Papyri and the Jewish Temple of YHW
Letters and contracts from fifth-century BC Elephantine document Judean soldiers, families, and a sacrificial temple of YHW in Egypt, revealing a diverse diaspora community that cannot be measured only against Jerusalem’s ideals.
Deuteronomy 12:5–14 · Ezra 4:1–24 · Nehemiah 1:1–11
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
Approximately 521 BC
The Behistun Inscription of Darius I
Darius I's monumental trilingual relief narrates his contested accession and suppression of revolts, defining the imperial ruler whose reign frames the renewed Jerusalem temple work in Ezra.
Ezra 4:24 · Ezra 6:1–15
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
Hasmonean period, about first century BC
4QEzra (4Q117): Ezra's Aramaic Correspondence
Three Hasmonean fragments preserve Ezra 4-6 in Hebrew and Imperial Aramaic, supplying the earliest material witness to the book’s administrative correspondence and Cyrus-decree narrative.
Ezra 4:2–11 · Ezra 5:17 · Ezra 6:1–5
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
late sixth to early fifth century BC
Hermopolis Aramaic Family Letters
A group of late-sixth- or early-fifth-century BC Aramaic papyrus letters from Hermopolis preserves family greetings, goods, travel, and invocations of Bethel, Banit, and Nabu. The archive illuminates Persian-period life and religious plurality in Egypt without securely identifying its correspondents as Judeans.
Jeremiah 44:15–25 · Ezra 4:7 · Ezra 5:6–17
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
Late fifth century BC, chiefly c. 410-407 BC
Arshama's Aramaic Leather Letter Archive
Arshama's Aramaic Leather Letter Archive is a distinct archaeological or manuscript witness whose documented context illuminates Scripture while preserving the limits of the evidence.
Ezra 4:7–24
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
Persian or early Hellenistic period
The Aramaic Administrative Ostracon beneath Wilson's Arch
A potsherd from sealed deposits beneath Wilson’s Arch bears a short Aramaic administrative text. Its script, language, and archaeological context provide a rare glimpse of record keeping in Jerusalem during the imperial centuries associated with Ezra and Nehemiah. The dossier connects the excavated evidence to Ezra 4:7 and Nehemiah 2:7-8 while keeping the historical claim narrower than the biblical narrative.
Ezra 4:7 · Nehemiah 2:7–8