Septuaginta, 2 Ezra, ed. Henry Barclay Swete, 4

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Καὶ ἤκουσαν οἱ θλίβοντες Ἰουδὰ καὶ Βενιαμὶν ὅτι οἱ υἱοὶ τῆς ἀποικίας οἰκοδομοῦσιν οἶκον τῷ κυρίῳ θεῷ Ἰσραήλ·

καὶ ἤγγισαν πρὸς Ζοροβαβὲλ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἄρχοντας τῶν πατριῶν, καὶ εἶπαν αὐτοῖς Οἰκοδομήσομεν μεθʼ ὑμῶν, ὅτι ὡς ὑμεῖς ἐκζητοῖῦμεν τῷ θεῷ ἡμῶν, καὶ αὐτῷ ἡμεῖς θυσιάζομεν ἀπὸ ἡμερῶν Ἀσαρεαθὼν βασιλέως Ἀσσοὺρ τοῦ ἐνέγκαντος ἡμᾶς ὧδε.

καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς Ζοροβαβὲλ καὶ Ἰησοῦς καὶ οἱ κατάλοιποι τῶν ἀρχόντων τῶν πατριῶν τοῦ Ἰσραήλ Οὐχ ἡμῖν καὶ ὑμῖν τοῦ οἰκοδομῆσαι οἶκον τῷ θεῷ ἡμῶν. ὅτι ἡμεῖς ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ οἰκοδομήσομεν τῷ κυρίῳ θεῷ ἡμῶν, ὡς ἐνετείλατο ἡμῖν Κῦρος βασιλεὺς Περσῶν.

καὶ ἦν ὁ λαὸς τῆς γῆς ἐκλύων χεῖρας λαοῦ Ἰούδα, καὶ ἐνεπόδιζον αὐτοὺς οἰκοδομεῖν,

καὶ μισθούμενοι ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς βουλόμενοι διασκεδάσαι βουλὴν αὐτῶν, πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας Κύρου βασιλέως Περσῶν καὶ ἕως βασιλείας Δαρείου βασιλέως Περσῶν.

καὶ ἐν βασιλείᾳ Ἀσθηροὺ ἐν ἀρχῇ βασιλείας αὐτοῦ ἔγραψεν ἐπὶ οἰκοῦντας Ἰουδὰ καὶ Ἰερουσαλήμ.

καὶ ἐν ἡμέραις Ἀσαρθαθὰ ἔγραψεν ἐν εἰρήνῃ Μιθραδάτῃ Γαβεὴλ καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς συνδούλοις· πρὸς βασιλέα Περσῶν ἔγραψεν ὁ φορολόγος γραφὴν Συριστὶ καὶ ἑρμηνευμένην.

Ῥαοὺλ βαδαταμὲν καὶ Σαμασὰ ὁ γραμματεὺς ἔγραψαν ἐπιστολὴν μίαν κατὰ Ἰερουσαλὴμ τῷ Ἀρσαρθὰ βασιλεῖ

τάδε ἔκρινεν Ῥαοὺμ βάαλ καὶ Σαμεὲ ὁ γραμματεὺς ¹³ καὶ οἱ κατάλοιποι σύνδουλοι ἡμῶν, Δειναῖοι, Φαρεσθαχαῖοι, Γαραφαλλαῖοι, Ἀφρασαῖοι, Ἀρχοῦοι, Βαβυλώνιοι, Σουσυναχαῖοι οἳ εἰσὶν Ἠλαμαῖοι,

καὶ οἱ κατάλοιποι ἐθνῶν ὧν ἀπῴκισεν Ἀσενναφὰρ ὁ μέγας καὶ ὁ τίμιος καὶ κατῴκισεν αὐτοὺς ἐν πόλεσιν τῆς Σωμωρὼν καὶ τὸ κατάλοιπον πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ.

αὕτη ἡ διαταγὴ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς ἧς ἀπέστειλαν πρὸς αὐτόν Πρὸς Ἀρσαρθὰ βασιλέα παῖδές σου ἄνδρες πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ.

γνωστὸν ἔστω τῷ βασιλεῖ ὅτι οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἀναβάντες ἀπὸ Κύρου ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς ἤλθοσαν εἰς Ἰερουσαλήμ· τὴν ἀποστάτιν καὶ πονηρὰν οἰκοδομοῦσιν, καὶ τὰ τείχη αὐτῆς κατηρτισμένοι εἰσίν, καὶ θεμελίους αὐτῆς ἀνύψωσαν.

νῦν οὗν γνωστὸν ἕστω τῷ βασιλεῖ ὅτι ἐὰν ἡ πόλις ἐκείνη οἰκοδομηθῇ καὶ τὰ τείχη αὐτῆς καταρτισθῶσιν, φόροι οὐκ ἔσονταί σοι οὐδὲ δώσουσιν· καὶ τοῦτο βασιλεῖς κακοποιεῖ

καὶ ἀσχημοσύνην βασιλέως οὐκ ἔξεστιν ἡμῖν ἰδεῖν· διὰ τοῦτο ἐπέμψαμεν καὶ ἐγνωρίσαμεν τῷ βασιλεῖ

ἵνα ἐπισκέψηται ἐν βιβλίῳ ὑπομνηματισμοῦ τῶν πατέρων σου, καὶ εὑρήσεις καὶ γνώσῃ ὅτι ἡ πόλις ἐκείνη πόλις ἀποστάτις, καὶ κακοποιοῦσα βασιλεῖς καὶ χώρας, καὶ φυγαδεῖα δούλων ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῆς ἀπὸ ἡμερῶν αἰῶνος· διὰ ταῦτα ἡ πόλις αὕτη ἠρημώθη.

γνωρίζομεν ἡμεῖς τῷ βασιλεῖ ὅτι ἐὰν ἡ πόλις ἐκείνη οἰκοδομηθῇ καὶ τὰ τείχη αὐτῆς καταρτισθῇ, οὐκ ἔστιν σοι εἰρήνη.

καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς Ῥαοὺμ βαλγὰμ καὶ Σαμεαὶς γραμματέα καὶ τοὺς καταλοίπους συνδούλους αὐτῶν τοὺς οἰκοῦντας ἐν Σαμαρείᾳ καὶ τοὺς καταλοίπους πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ εἰρήνην, καί φασιν

Ὁ φορολόγος ὃν ἀπεστείλατε πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἐκλήθη ἔμπροσθεν ἐμοῦ.

καὶ παρʼ ἐμοῦ ἐτέθη γνώμη καὶ ἐπεσκεψάμεθα, καὶ εὕραμεν ὅτι ἡ πόλις ἐκείνη ἀφʼ ἡμερῶν αἰῶνος ἐπὶ βασιλεῖς ἐπαίρεται,καὶ ἀποστάσεις καὶ φυγαδεῖα γίνονται ἐν αὐτῇ·

καὶ βασιλεῖς ἰσχυροὶ γίνονται ἐπὶ Ἰερουσαλήμ, καὶ ἐπικρατοῦντες ὅλης τῆς ἐσπέρας τοῦ ποταμοῦ, καὶ φόροι πλήρεις καὶ μέρος δίδοται αὐτοῖς.

νῦν θέτε γνώμην καταργῆσαι τοὺς ἄνδρας ἐκείνους, καὶ ἡ πόλις ἐκείνη οὐκ οἰκοδομηθήσεται ⁴⁵ ἔτι ἀπὸ τῆς γνώμης.

πεφυλαγμένοι ἦτε ἄνεσιν ποιῆσαι ⁶ περὶτούτου, μή ποτε πληθυνθῇ ἀφανισμὸς εἰς κακοποίησιν βασιλεῦσιν.

τότε ὁ φορολόγος τοῦ Ἀρσαρθὰ βασιλέως ἀνέγνω ἐνώπιον Ῥαοὺμ καὶ Σαμεσὰ γραμματέως συνδούλων αὐτῶν· καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν ἐν σπουδῇ εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ ἐν Ἰούδᾳ, καὶ κατήργησαν αὐτοὺς ἐν ἵπποις καὶ δυνάμει.

τότε ἤργησεν τὸ ἔργον οἴκου τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ, καὶ ἦν ἀργῶν ἕως ἔτους δευτέρου Δαρείου τοῦ βασιλέως Περσῶν.

2 Ezra. Septuaginta. ed. Henry Barclay Swete. United States. 2017.

Funding provided by Harvard Library Arcadia Fund.

Current edition First1KGreek

Ἔσδρας Βʹ (Greek) (Septuaginta. The Old Testament in Greek According to the Septuagint. Volume 2: I Chronicles-Tobit. Swete, Henry Barclay, editor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1896.)

Translations (2)

Ezra Perseus (World English Bible. Revision of the American Standard Version of 1901. Rainbow Missions, Inc., 2000-2024.) — 4 focus

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity were building a temple to Yahweh, the God of Israel;

then they drew near to Zerubbabel, and to the heads of fathers’ [houses], and said to them, Let us build with you; for we seek your God, as you do; and we sacrifice to him since the days of Esar Haddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.

But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ [houses] of Israel, said to them, You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves together will build to Yahweh, the God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.

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

and hired counselors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

In the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian [character], and set forth in the Syrian [language].

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

then [wrote] Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions, the Dinaites, and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites, the Elamites,

and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar brought over, and set in the city of Samaria, and in the rest [of the country] beyond the River, and so forth.

This is the copy of the letter that they sent to Artaxerxes the king: Your servants the men beyond the River, and so forth.

Be it known to the king, that the Jews who came up from you are come to us to Jerusalem; they are building the rebellious and the bad city, and have finished the walls, and repaired the foundations.

Be it known now to the king that if this city is built, and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and in the end it will be hurtful to the kings.

Now because we eat the salt of the palace, and it is not appropriate for us to see the king’s dishonor, therefore have we sent and informed the king;

that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers: so shall you find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful to kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time; for which cause was this city laid waste.

We inform the king that, if this city be built, and the walls finished, by this means you shall have no portion beyond the River.

[Then] sent the king an answer to Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria, and in the rest [of the country] beyond the River: Peace, and so forth.

The letter which you sent to us has been plainly read before me.

I decreed, and search has been made, and it is found that this city of old time has made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein.

There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all [the country] beyond the River; and tribute, custom, and toll, was paid to them.

Make you now a decree to cause these men to cease, and that this city not be built, until a decree shall be made by me.

Take heed that you not be slack herein: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?

Then when the copy of king Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.

Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem; and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Nehemiah Perseus (World English Bible. Revision of the American Standard Version of 1901. Rainbow Missions, Inc., 2000-2024.) — 4 focus

But it happened that when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.

He spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, What are these feeble Jews doing? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, seeing they are burned?

Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they are building, if a fox go up, he shall break down their stone wall.

Hear, our God; for we are despised: and turn back their reproach on their own head, and give them up for a spoil in a land of captivity;

and don’t cover their iniquity, and don’t let their sin be blotted out from before you; for they have provoked [you] to anger before the builders.

So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together to half [the height] of it: for the people had a mind to work.

But it happened that when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward, [and] that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very angry;

and they conspired all of them together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion therein.

But we made our prayer to our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.

Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.

Our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, until we come into the midst of them, and kill them, and cause the work to cease.

It happened that when the Jews who lived by them came, they said to us ten times from all places, You must return to us.

Therefore set I in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in the open places, I set [there] the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Don’t be you afraid of them: remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

It happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and God had brought their counsel to nothing, that we returned all of us to the wall, everyone to his work.

It happened from that time forth, that half of my servants worked in the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.

They all built the wall and those who bore burdens loaded themselves; everyone with one of his hands worked in the work, and with the other held his weapon;

and the builders, everyone had his sword girded by his side, and so built. He who sounded the trumpet was by me.

I said to the nobles, and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated on the wall, one far from another:

in whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, resort you there to us; our God will fight for us.

So we worked in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared.

Likewise at the same time said I to the people, Let everyone with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and may labor in the day.

So neither I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us put off our clothes, everyone [went with] his weapon [to] the water.

Notes on the current edition

2 Ezra

1. A

3. Β

4. A

6. Β

Septuaginta 2 Ezra 4

ed. Henry Barclay Swete

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