Ezr 4:7, 17-18 | ESV | STEP | In the days of Artaxerxes , Bishlam and Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia . The letter was written in Aramaic and translated .

Ezra 4:7

The Letter to King Artaxerxes

7 In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and ^aMithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written ^bin 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}

Ezra 4:17-18

The King Orders the Work to Cease

17 The 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 18 the letter that you sent to us has been ^dplainly read before me.