Ezra 4

1 Men da Judas og Benjamins Fjender hørte, at de, der havde været i Landflygtighed, byggede HERREN, Israels Gud, en Helligdom,

Now news came to the haters of Judah and Benjamin that the people who had come back were building a Temple to the Lord, the God of Israel;

2 henvendte de sig til Zerubbabel, Jesua og Overhovederne for Fædrenehusene og sagde til dem: Lad os være med til at bygge, thi vi søger eders Gud såvel som I, og ham har vi ofret til, siden Assyrerkongen Asarhaddon førte os herhen!

Then they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of families, and said to them, Let us take part in the building with you; for we are servants of your God, even as you are; and we have been making offerings to him from the days of Esar-haddon, king of Assyria, who put us here.

3 Men Zerubbabel, Jesua og de andre Overhoveder for Israels Fædrenehuse svarede: I skal ikke være fælles med os om at bygge vor Gud et Hus, men vi vil være ene om at bygge for HERREN, Israels Gud, således som Kong Kyros, Perserkongen, pålagde os!"

But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of families in Israel said to them, You have no part with us in the building of a house for our God; we ourselves will do the work together for the Lord, the God of Israel, as Cyrus, king of Persia, has given us orders.

4 Så bragte Hedningerne i Landet Judas Folks Hænder til at synke og skræmmede dem fra at bygge;

Then the people of the land made the hands of the people of Judah feeble, troubling them with fear in their building;

5 og de købte Folk til med deres Råd at modarbejde dem og bringe deres Planer til at strande; således gik det, så længe Perserkongen Kyros levede, lige til Perserkongen Darius's Regering.

And they gave payment to men who made designs against them and kept them from effecting their purpose, all through the time of Cyrus, king of Persia, till Darius became king.

6 Under Ahasverus's Regering, i hans første Regeringstid, skrev de en Klage oer Judas og Jerusalems lodbyggere.

And in the time of Ahasuerus, when he first became king, they put on record a statement against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

7 I Artaxerxes's Dage affattede Bisjlam, Mitredat, Tabe'el og alle hans andre Embedsbrødre en Skrivelse til Perserkongen Artaxerxes. Skrivelsen var affattet på Aramaisk og oversat.

And in the time of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his friends, sent a letter to Artaxerxes, king of Persia, writing it in the Aramaean writing and language.

8 Statholderen Rehum og Skriveren Sjimsjaj skrev et Brev mod Jerusalem til Kong Artaxerxes af følgende Indhold.

Rehum, the chief ruler, and Shimshai the scribe, sent a letter against Jerusalem, to Artaxerxes the king;

9 De, der dengang skrev, var Statholderen Rehum og Skriveren Sjimsjaj og alle deres andre Embedsbrødre, Diniterne, Afarsatkiterne, Tarpeliterne, Afaresiterne, Arkiterne, Babylonerne,

The letter was sent by Rehum, the chief ruler, and Shimshai the scribe and their friends; the Dinaites and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites, the Elamites,

10 Susaniterne, Dehaviterne, Elamiterne og de andre Folk, som den store og navnkundige Asenappar havde ført bort og ladet bosætte sig i Samarias Byer og andensteds hinsides Floden, og så videre.

And the rest of the nations which the great and noble Osnappar took over and put in Samaria and the rest of the country over the river:

11 Dette er en Afskrift af Brevet, de sendte ham: "Til Kong Artaxerxes. Dine Trælle, Folkene hinsides Floden, og så videre:

This is a copy of the letter which they sent to Artaxerxes the king: Your servants living across the river send these words:

12 Det være Kongen kundgjort, at Jøderne, som drog op til os fra dig, er kommet til Jerusalem; de er i Færd med at genopbygge denne oprørske og onde By; de genopfører Murene og udbedrer Grunden.

We give news to the king that the Jews who came from you have come to us at Jerusalem; they are building up again that uncontrolled and evil town; the walls are complete and they are joining up the bases.

13 Men nu være det Kongen kundgjort, at hvis denne By bygges op og Murene genopføres, så vil de ikke svare Skat, Afgift eller Skyld, og der bliver Skår i Kongens Indtægter.

The king may be certain that when the building of this town and its walls is complete, they will give no tax or payment in goods or forced payments, and in the end it will be a cause of loss to the kings.

14 Da vi nu spiser Paladsets Salt, og det ikke sømmer sig for os at se på, at Kongen lider Skade, sender vi herved Bud og lader Kongen det vide,

Now because we are responsible to the king, and it is not right for us to see the king's honour damaged, we have sent to give the king word of these things,

15 for at der kan blive set efter i dine Fædres Krønikebog; i den vil du finde og se, at denne By er en oprørsk By, der har voldt Konger og Lande Skade, og at der fra gammel Tid har fundet Opstande Sted i den. Det er Grunden til, at denne By blev ødelagt.

So that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers: and you will see in the book of the records that this town has been uncontrolled, and a cause of trouble to kings and countries, and that there were outbursts against authority there in the past: for which reason the town was made waste.

16 Så lader vi da Kongen vide, at hvis denne By bygges op og Murerne genopføres, har du ikke mere nogen Besiddelse hinsides Floden!"

We give you word, that if the building of this town and its walls is made complete, there will be an end of your power in the country across the river.

17 Kongen sendte da følgende Svar til Statholderen Rehum, Skriveren Sjimsjaj og alle deres andre Embeddsbrødre, som boede i Samaria og de andre Lande hinsides Floden: "Hilsen, og så videre.

Then the king sent an answer to Rehum, the chief ruler, and Shimshai the scribe, and their friends living in Samaria, and to the rest of those across the river, saying, Peace to you:

18 Den Skrivelse, I har sendt mig, er forelæst mig grundigt.

And now the sense of the letter which you sent to us has been made clear to me,

19 Og på mit Bud har man set efter og fundet, at denne By fra gammel Tid har sat sig op mod Konger, og at der har fundet Oprør og Opstande Sted i den;

And I gave orders for a search to be made, and it is certain that in the past this town has made trouble for kings, and that outbursts against authority have taken place there.

20 over Jerusalem har der hersket mægtige Konger, som udstrakte deres Magt over alt hinsides Floden, og til hvem der svaredes Skat, Afgift og Skyld.

Further, there have been great kings in Jerusalem, ruling over all the country across the river, to whom they gave taxes and payments in goods and forced payments.

21 Giv derfor Ordre til at standse disse Mænd og til, at denne By ikke må genopbygges, før der kommer Befaling fra mig;

Give an order now, that these men are to do nothing more, and that the building of the town is to be stopped, till I give an order.

22 og tag eder vel i Vare for at vise Forsømmelighed i denne Sag, at ikke der skal lides store Tab til Skade for Kongerne!

Be certain to do this with all care: do not let trouble be increased to the king's damage.

23 Så snart Afskriften af denne Skrivelse fra Kong Artaxerxes var blevet læst for Rehum, Skriveren Sjimsjaj og deres Embedsbrødre, begav de sig uopholdelig til Jøderne i Jerusalem og tvang dem med Magt til at standse Arbejdet.

Then, after reading the king's letter, Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their friends went quickly to Jerusalem, to the Jews, and had them stopped by force.

24 Så standsede Arbejdet på Guds Hus i Jerusalem, og det hvilede til Perserkongen Darius's andet Regeringsår.

So the work of the house of God at Jerusalem came to an end; so it was stopped, till the second year of the rule of Darius, king of Persia.