Ezra 4
1 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;
Audierunt autem hostes Judæ et Benjamin, quia filii captivitatis ædificarent templum Domino Deo Israël:
2 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.
et accedentes ad Zorobabel, et ad principes patrum, dixerunt eis: Ædificemus vobiscum, quia ita ut vos, quærimus Deum vestrum: ecce nos immolavimus victimas a diebus Asor Haddan regis Assur, qui adduxit nos huc.
3 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.
Et dixit eis Zorobabel, et Josue, et reliqui principes patrum Israël: Non est vobis et nobis ut ædificemus domum Deo nostro, sed nos ipsi soli ædificabimus Domino Deo nostro, sicut præcepit nobis Cyrus rex Persarum.
4 Then the people of the land made the hands of the people of Judah feeble, troubling them with fear in their building;
Factum est igitur ut populus terræ impediret manus populi Judæ, et turbaret eos in ædificando.
5 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.
Conduxerunt autem adversus eos consiliatores, ut destruerent consilium eorum omnibus diebus Cyri regis Persarum, et usque ad regnum Darii regis Persarum.
6 And in the time of Ahasuerus, when he first became king, they put on record a statement against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.
In regno autem Assueri, in principio regni ejus, scripserunt accusationem adversus habitatores Judæ et Jerusalem.
7 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.
Et in diebus Artaxerxis scripsit Beselam, Mithridates, et Thabeel, et reliqui qui erant in consilio eorum, ad Artaxerxem regem Persarum: epistola autem accusationis scripta erat syriace, et legebatur sermone syro.
8 Rehum, the chief ruler, and Shimshai the scribe, sent a letter against Jerusalem, to Artaxerxes the king;
Reum Beelteem, et Samsai scriba, scripserunt epistolam unam de Jerusalem Artaxerxi regi, hujuscemodi:
9 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,
Reum Beelteem, et Samsai scriba, et reliqui consiliatores eorum, Dinæi, et Apharsathachæi, Terphalæi, Apharsæi, Erchuæi, Babylonii, Susanechæi, Dievi, et Ælamitæ,
10 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:
et ceteri de gentibus, quas transtulit Asenaphar magnus et gloriosus, et habitare eas fecit in civitatibus Samariæ, et in reliquis regionibus trans flumen in pace
11 This is a copy of the letter which they sent to Artaxerxes the king: Your servants living across the river send these words:
(hoc est exemplar epistolæ, quam miserunt ad eum), Artaxerxi regi, servi tui, viri qui sunt trans fluvium, salutem dicunt.
12 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.
Notum sit regi quia Judæi, qui ascenderunt a te ad nos, venerunt in Jerusalem civitatem rebellem et pessimam, quam ædificant exstruentes muros ejus, et parietes componentes.
13 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.
Nunc igitur notum sit regi, quia si civitas illa ædificata fuerit, et muri ejus instaurati, tributum, et vectigal, et annuos reditus non dabunt, et usque ad reges hæc noxa perveniet.
14 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,
Nos autem memores salis, quod in palatio comedimus, et quia læsiones regis videre nefas ducimus, idcirco misimus et nuntiavimus regi,
15 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.
ut recenseas in libris historiarum patrum tuorum, et invenies scriptum in commentariis: et scies quoniam urbs illa, urbs rebellis est, et nocens regibus et provinciis, et bella concitantur in ea ex diebus antiquis: quam ob rem et civitas ipsa destructa est.
16 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.
Nuntiamus nos regi, quoniam si civitas illa ædificata fuerit, et muri ipsius instaurati, possessionem trans fluvium non habebis.
17 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:
Verbum misit rex ad Reum Beelteem, et Samsai scribam, et ad reliquos, qui erant in consilio eorum habitatores Samariæ, et ceteris trans fluvium, salutem dicens et pacem.
18 And now the sense of the letter which you sent to us has been made clear to me,
Accusatio, quam misistis ad nos, manifeste lecta est coram me,
19 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.
et a me præceptum est: et recensuerunt, inveneruntque quoniam civitas illa a diebus antiquis adversum reges rebellat, et seditiones, et prælia concitantur in ea:
20 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.
nam et reges fortissimi fuerunt in Jerusalem, qui et dominati sunt omni regioni quæ trans fluvium est: tributum quoque et vectigal, et reditus accipiebant.
21 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.
Nunc ergo audite sententiam: prohibeatis viros illos, ut urbs illa non ædificetur donec si forte a me jussum fuerit.
22 Be certain to do this with all care: do not let trouble be increased to the king's damage.
Videte ne negligenter hoc impleatis, et paulatim crescat malum contra reges.
23 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.
Itaque exemplum edicti Artaxerxis regis lectum est coram Reum Beelteem, et Samsai scriba, et consiliariis eorum: et abierunt festini in Jerusalem ad Judæos, et prohibuerunt eos in brachio et robore.
24 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.
Tunc intermissum est opus domus Domini in Jerusalem, et non fiebat usque ad annum secundum regni Darii regis Persarum.
