Their Enemies Continue to Try to Stop the Rebuilding of the Lord God’s House |
Ezra 4:1-24 The Book of Ezra in [Smaller Chunks] |
Now, when the [enemies] of Judah & Benjamin heard that the children, [a.k.a. people, [returned from] captivity, [were] [rebuilding] the temple to the Lord God of Israel, then they came to Zerubbabel, & the chief, [a.k.a. leaders,] of the [forefathers’ families,] & said to them, Let us [rebuild] with you, [because] we seek your God, [like] you do. |
And we [have sacrificed] to Him, since the days of Esar Haddon, [Assur’s] king, [who] brought us up [here.] But Zerubbabel, Jeshhua, & the rest of the [leaders of the forefathers’ families] of Israel, said to them, You have [no part] with us [in] [rebuilding a] house to our God. |
But we will ourselves, [rebuild for] the Lord God of Israel, together, [like] king Cyrus of Persia [has] commanded us. Then, the people of the land [tried to discourage,] & [weaken] the hands of the people of Judah, & troubled them in [rebuilding.] |
And [they] hired [counselors, a.k.a. advisors,] against them, [in order] to [keep them from attaining] their [goal,] all the days of Cyrus, [Persia’s king,] even until Darius, [Persia’s] king [ruled.] And in the beginning of [Ahasuerus’] reign, they wrote to him [with] an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah & Jerusalem. |
And [during Artaxerxes’ reign,] Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, & the rest of their companions wrote [a letter] in the Syrian tongue, [a.k.a. language,] to Artaxerxes, [Persia’s] king; & [the letter was] interpreted in the Syrian [language.] |
Rehum, the chancellor, [a.k.a. chief director of state,] & Shimshai, the scribe, wrote a letter to Artaxerxes, the king, against Jerusalem [about] this. Then, Rehum, the chancellor, & Shimshai, the scribe, & wrote [with] the rest of their companions: |
The Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, the Elamites, & the rest of the nations, |
whom the great & noble Asnapper, [a.k.a. Ashurbanipal,] brought over, & [put] in the cities of Samaria, & the rest that are on this side [of] the [Euphrates] River, at [this] time. |
This is the copy of the letter that they sent to king Artaxerxes. [From] your servants, the men of this side of the river, at [this] time. |
The king [should] [know] that the Jews [who] came up from you to us [have gone into] Jerusalem, [are] [rebuilding] the rebellious & bad city, & have [put] up [its] walls, & joined the foundations. |
The king [should also] [know] now, that, if this city [is rebuilt,] & the walls [are] [put] up again, then they won’t pay toll, [a.k.a. taxes,] tribute, or [customs, a.k.a. taxes on imports,] so you [shall threaten,] the revenue of the kings. |
[Since,] we [receive financial] [support] from the king’s palace, it wasn’t [proper] for us to see the [king dishonored, so] we have sent, & [informed] the king. |
That [a] search may be made in the book of your [forefathers'] records, so you [shall] find in the book of records, & know that this city is a rebellious city, & [harmful] to kings & provinces, & they have [incited] [the people] [to rebel, like in the past,] which [caused] this city [to be] destroyed. |
We [testify to] the king that, if this city [is rebuilt] again, & [its] walls [are restored,] you [shall] have no [control] on this side of the river. Then, the king [returned] an answer to Rehum, the [chief director of state,] to Shimshai, the scribe, & to the rest of their companions [who live] in Samaria, & to the rest beyond the [Euphrates] River. |
Peace, at a time such [as this.] The letter, [that] you sent to us [has] been read plainly [in front of] me. And I commanded, & a search [has] been made, & it is found that this city [in the past, has revolted] against kings, & that rebellion & [inciting riots] have been made [there.] |
Also, there have been mighty kings over Jerusalem, [who] have ruled over all [the] countries beyond the river, & [taxes,] tribute, & [taxes on imports were] paid to them. Now, you give the [command] that these men [stop rebuilding] this city, until [I shall give] another [command.] |
Now, [pay attention,] that you don’t fail to do this. Why should [this threat increase,] & [harm] the kings? |
Now, when the copy of king Artaxerxes’ letter was read [in front of] Rehum, Shimshai, the scribe, & their companions, they [hurried,] & went up to the Jews, [in] Jerusalem, & made them [stop] by force & power. Then, the work [on] the house of God [stopped in] Jerusalem [until] the 2nd year Darius, [Persia’s] king [ruled.] |
And I heard, but [didn't understand.] Then, I said, O my Lord, What shall be the end of these things? And He said, Go [on] your way, Daniel: for the Words are closed up and sealed till the time of the End. Daniel 12:8-9 KJV
About the Author of the Blogsite, Not the Author of the Bible:
About the Author of the Blogsite, Not the Author of the Bible: Since the Lord had it on my heart to write this blog, I was uncertain of how to accomplish this, mindful of Revelation 22:18-19, which says that nobody is to add to, or to take away from what was written in the Bible. After lots of prayerful contemplation, the Lord had it on my heart that I’m not to change the meaning of what is written in the Bible. He has also shown ways to add to people’s understating of that meaning, without altering the meaning, by putting that info within [brackets]. This is primarily accomplished with the KJV Bible and lots of prayers, but at times, BibleGateway.com, Biblehub.com, NIV Bible, Webster Dictionary, and other internet resources, as needed. Debra Seiling
About Understanding the Bible:
Understanding the Bible: After reading Isaiah 28:10 many times over the years and not totally understanding it, it recently became apparent to me that the Lord God has this passage as the means for understanding the Bible.
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little. Isaiah 28:10 KJV.
Being prayerful about this passage, and looking up 'precept' in the Webster's Dictionary, it gave this passage a whole new meaning, once 'commandment' is substituted for 'precept'. Within brackets are additional words the Lord had on my heart to aid in understanding the meaning.
For commandment must be [built up] upon commandment; commandment upon commandment; line upon line, line upon line; [developing understanding] here a little, and there a little.
The Table Format:
The Table Format: I was overwhelmed with how to explain the process for determining if someone had leprosy in Leviticus 13, which seemed very complicated. After praying, "Lord, if this is difficult for me to understand after reading it many times, how can this be explained to others?" The thought the Lord God had on my heart was for me to put it into a vertical chart to visually see the process. This made it much easier for me to follow the progression. After doing so, I prayed, "Lord, how can this be conveyed to readers, so that they can understand this process?" The thought the Lord God had on my heart was to put it within the lines of a table. Being a stiff-necked, stubborn person, as it's often called in the Bible, I prayed, asking the Lord God if He's sure that's really what He wanted me to do? I reluctantly put Leviticus 13 into a table format. When I read this difficult leprosy process within a table format, it suddenly became easier for me to understand. That's because it builds line upon line, as explained in the Understanding the Bible section. Shortly after that, the Lord God had it on my heart, to put all of The Books of the Bible in Smaller Chunks within a table format, to aid in understanding, line upon line.
By 2/20/26 All Chapters of the Bible [in Smaller Chunks] Will Be Posted. If you want to read any chapters, just Click the desired Book of the Bible on the Right, and Click on the chapters of that Book of the Bible you want to read. My personal recommendation for those who are just beginning reading the Bible, is to start in the New Testament first.