Ezra - Ferrar Fenton Bible Translation page 918
The Psalms, Solomon and Sacred Writers
king Arthakshaste. was read before Rehum, and Shemshai the Secretary and their Associates, they at once proceeded to jerusalem, against the jews and prevented them by force of
24 an army. Thus the work at the House of GOD in jerusalem was stopped until the third year of the reign of Dariush king of the Persians.]l]] (529 8.0.) W12 Ezmplz again §2gu¤. Then the Preachers Hagai and
Zakeriah-ben—Adna preached to the jews who were in jerusalem with the power ofthe Gon of Israel upon them. Consequently Zerubabel··bar-Shal» thial, and jeshua—bar-jozadak began again to rebuild the House of GOD at jerusalem, and the Preachers of GOD helped them. Wm Guimmnr uf Samaria Unierferes. Then Tatnai the Governor of the
Over·river, and Shatharboznai, and their Associates sent and enquired of Who gave a permission to rebuild this Temple and to close up They also continued to What are the names of the men who are erecting this building ? ’ However the eye of Goo was upon
the leaders ofthe jews, and they did not prevent them until a despatch could be sent to Dariush, and a reply received about it. 1 No*rz.—-Ch. 4, v. 14. The passage which
I place in brackets from v. 6 to v. 24 of was evidently written long after the period of Zerubbabel, who led the First Return under the Decree of Cyrus, in 536 n.c., and is a note of explanation of the course of events between him and Ezra the and ‘Nehemiah the Second/’ who lived nearly a century after Zerubbabel. T he failure of previous translators to perceive this has involved the history in a wild confusion, of which Anti·Christians have taken full ®¤pg uf Eatmtfz `§eitzr. A Copy of the letter, that Tatnai 6 the Over—river Governor, and Shethar· boznai, and their associates, the Afaraskia, who were over the river, sent to the king Dariush. (They 7 sent a letter to him written in this form.) ‘ To Dariush the King; Perfect heahhl It should be known to the king
that on our going to the Province of the jews, to the Temple of the GREAT GOD, we found it rebuilt with great stones, with timber fixed in the walls, and the work is being pushed forward, and the works prosper in their hands. We consequently asked the Leaders, ‘WH0 gave you a Decree for this Temple ?——to build it, and close in the walls? ’ We also demanded the names of their leaders so as to inform you ofthe names of those men. When they returned us this answer ;——‘ We are the servants ofthe GOD of Heaven and Earth! and we are rebuilding the Temple that was formerly here many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and furnished. But because our ancestors provoked the Gon of HEAVEN, he gave them to the hand of Nebukadnezzar, king of Babel, the Kasdia, and he overthrew that Temple, and transported the People to Babel. But in the first year of Koresh king of Babel, King Koresh signed a Decree for this Temple to be rebuilt. And also the gold and silver furniture of the Temple ofGon, which Nebukadnezzar transferred from the Temple of jerusalem, and carried to the Temple of Babel, King Koresh transferred from the Temple of Babel, and delivered to Shashbazar who was appointed Governor there, and said to him, ‘Take this furniture, and carry it to the Temple of jeru- salem, and rebuild the House of GOD on its own foundations. Shashbazar consequently came,——and laid the foundations of the House of GOD at jerusalem,——and from that time until now it has been building and is not completed. ‘ Consequently, therefore, if it
pleases the king, let there be a search at the Royal Treasury at Babel, to ascertain if King Koresh did sign a. Decree for the rebuilding of this House of GOD in jerusalem? And let the king send us information about l this affair. zidvantage.·——F. F. qi8 I0
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