¹Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel;

¹Berita bahwa orang-orang bekas buangan itu sedang membangun Rumah TUHAN, Allah Israel, terdengar oleh musuh orang Yehuda dan Benyamin.

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 Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.

²Sebab itu mereka menemui Zerubabel dan para kepala kaum, lalu mengusulkan, "Izinkanlah kami ikut membangun Rumah TUHAN itu, sebab kami juga berbakti kepada Allah saudara-saudara, sama seperti saudara sekalian. Kami selalu mempersembahkan kurban kepadanya sejak Esar-Hadon, raja Asyur membawa kami ke mari."

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.

³Tetapi Zerubabel, Yesua dan para kepala kaum itu menjawab, "Kami tidak memerlukan bantuan kalian untuk membangun rumah bagi TUHAN Allah kami. Kami akan membangunnya sendiri sesuai dengan perintah Kores, raja Persia, kepada kami."

⁴Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,

⁴Kemudian penduduk yang sudah lama tinggal di negeri itu mulai melemahkan semangat orang Yahudi serta menakut-nakuti mereka supaya pembangunan itu dihentikan.

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.

⁵Mereka menyogok pejabat-pejabat pemerintah Persia supaya menggagalkan rencana orang Yahudi itu. Hal itu terus berlangsung selama pemerintahan Raja Kores sampai pemerintahan Raja Darius.

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.

⁶Pada awal pemerintahan Raja Ahasyweros, musuh-musuh penduduk Yerusalem dan Yehuda menulis surat gugatan.

⁷And 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.

⁷Juga pada zaman pemerintahan Artahsasta, kaisar Persia, kejadian itu berulang: Bislam, Mitredat, Tabeel dan rekan-rekan mereka menulis surat kepada raja. Surat itu ditulis dalam bahasa Aram, dan harus diterjemahkan ketika dibacakan.

⁸Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort:

⁸Artahsasta juga menerima surat mengenai Yerusalem. Surat itu dikirim oleh Gubernur Rehum dan Simsai sekretaris provinsi dan didukung oleh rekan-rekan mereka, yaitu para hakim dan semua pejabat Persia lain yang berasal dari Erekh, Babel, dan Susan di negeri Elam,

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,

⁹(4:8)

¹⁰And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnapper brought over, and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest that are on this side the river, and at such a time.

¹⁰juga oleh bangsa-bangsa lain yang telah diangkut Asnapar Yang Agung dan disuruh menetap di kota Samaria dan di kota-kota lain dalam provinsi Efrat Barat.

¹¹This 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.

¹¹Begini bunyi surat itu, "Ke hadapan Raja Artahsasta, dari para hamba Baginda yang tinggal di Efrat Barat. Salam.

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.

¹²Kiranya Baginda maklum, bahwa orang Yahudi yang telah meninggalkan wilayah-wilayah lain dalam kerajaan Baginda, kini menetap di Yerusalem dan sedang membangun kembali kota yang jahat dan suka memberontak itu. Mereka sudah mulai mendirikan lagi tembok-temboknya dan tak lama lagi akan menyelesaikan pekerjaan itu.

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.

¹³Jika kota itu berhasil dibangun kembali dan tembok-temboknya selesai didirikan, penduduknya tidak akan mau lagi membayar pajak, lalu pendapatan kerajaan akan berkurang.

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;

¹⁴Kami sudah berhutang budi kepada Baginda dan tidak ingin melihat Baginda dirugikan. Karena itu kami mengusulkan,

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.

¹⁵agar Baginda menyuruh meneliti arsip para leluhur Baginda. Dari isinya Baginda akan mengetahui bahwa kota Yerusalem memang suka memberontak dan sejak dahulu selalu merugikan para raja dan penguasa provinsi. Penduduknya selalu susah dipimpin. Itu sebabnya kota itu telah dihancurkan.

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.

¹⁶Jadi, kami yakin, bahwa apabila kota itu dibangun kembali dan tembok-temboknya didirikan, Baginda tidak akan dapat lagi menguasai provinsi Efrat Barat ini."

¹⁷Then 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.

¹⁷Raja mengirim jawaban ini, "Kepada Gubernur Rehum dan Simsai sekretaris provinsi, serta rekan-rekan mereka yang tinggal di Samaria dan di kota-kota lain di provinsi Efrat Barat. Salam.

¹⁸The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.

¹⁸Surat yang Saudara-saudara kirimkan telah diterjemahkan dan dibacakan kepadaku.

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.

¹⁹Lalu atas perintahku sudah diadakan penelitian, dan memang terbukti bahwa sejak zaman dahulu Yerusalem selalu melawan kuasa raja-raja dan banyak di antara penduduknya adalah pemberontak dan perusuh.

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.

²⁰Pernah raja-raja yang perkasa memerintah di sana dan menguasai seluruh provinsi Efrat Barat serta menjalankan pajak dan upeti.

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.

²¹Sebab itu, keluarkanlah perintah untuk menghentikan pekerjaan orang-orang itu, supaya kota itu jangan dibangun kembali sampai aku memberi perintah lain.

²²Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?

²²Laksanakanlah perintahku itu dengan segera supaya jangan bertambah besar lagi kerugianku!"

²³Now 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.

²³Segera setelah surat Artahsasta itu dibacakan kepada Rehum, Simsai dan rekan-rekan mereka, berangkatlah mereka ke Yerusalem dan memaksa orang Yahudi menghentikan pekerjaan membangun kembali kota itu.

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.

²⁴Pekerjaan Rumah TUHAN telah dihentikan dan tidak diteruskan sampai tahun kedua pemerintahan Darius, raja Persia.