2 Chronicles 15:7
7 aBut you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, bfor your work shall be rewarded.”Ezra 4
Adversaries Oppose the Rebuilding
1Now when cthe adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, 2they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever dsince the days of eEsarhaddon king of Assyria fwho brought us here.” 3But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, g“You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, has King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”4Then ithe people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build 5and bribed counselors 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 jAhasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
The Letter to King Artaxerxes
7In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and kMithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written lin Aramaic and translated. ▼▼Hebrew written in Aramaic and translated in Aramaic, indicating that 4:8–6:18 is in Aramaic; another interpretation is The letter was written in the Aramaic script and set forth in the Aramaic language
8Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows: 9Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the njudges, the ogovernors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the pElamites, 10and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble qOsnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River. 11(This is a copy of the letter that they sent.) “To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now 12be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are rfinishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 13Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay stribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired. 14Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king’s dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king, 15in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste. 16We make known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.” The King Orders the Work to Cease
17The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now 18the letter that you sent to us has been tplainly read before me. 19And I made a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it. 20And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, uwho ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom vtribute, custom, and toll were paid. 21Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me. 22And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?”23Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease. 24Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Isaiah 35:3-4
3 wStrengthen the weak hands,and make firm the feeble knees.
4Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
xBehold, your God
will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”
Jeremiah 38:4
4Then the officials said to the king, y“Let this man be put to death, zfor he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking aathe welfare of this people, but their harm.”Hebrews 12:12
12Therefore ablift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,
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