Ezra 4:5-7

Good News Translation

⁵They also bribed Persian government officials to work against them. They kept on doing this throughout the reign of Emperor Cyrus and into the reign of Emperor Darius.^[a]

Opposition to the Rebuilding of Jerusalem

⁶^[b]At the beginning of the reign of Emperor Xerxes, the enemies of the people living in Judah and Jerusalem brought written charges against them.

⁷Again in the reign of Emperor Artaxerxes of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their associates wrote a letter to the emperor. The letter was written in Aramaic^[c] and was to be translated when read.^[d]

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Footnotes

Ezra 4:5 The account of these events is continued at verse 24. The material in verses 6-23 describes events which took place almost a century later.
Ezra 4:6 AddEsth 1:1
Ezra 4:7 From 4.8 to 6.18 this book is not in Hebrew, but Aramaic, the official language of the Persian Empire.
Ezra 4:7 The letter … read; or It was in Aramaic and was written in the Aramaic script.