Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, the officials of Trans-Euphrates, sent to King Darius. New Living Translation This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai the governor, Shethar-bozenai, and the other officials of the province west of the Euphrates River sent to King Darius: English Standard Version This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and his associates, the governors who were in the province Beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. Berean Standard Bible This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius. King James Bible The copy of the letter that Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shetharboznai, and his companions the Apharsachites, which were on this side the river, sent unto Darius the king: New King James Version This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai sent: The governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and his companions, the Persians who were in the region beyond the River, to Darius the king. New American Standard Bible This is the copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and his colleagues the officials, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. NASB 1995 This is the copy of the letter which Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai and his colleagues the officials, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. NASB 1977 This is the copy of the letter which Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai and his colleagues the officials, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. Legacy Standard Bible This is the copy of the letter which Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai and his colleagues the officials, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. Amplified Bible This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of the province west of the [Euphrates] River, and Shethar-bozenai and his associates, the officials who were west of the River, sent to Darius the king. Christian Standard Bible This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius. Holman Christian Standard Bible This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius. American Standard Version The copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai, and his companions the Apharsachites, who were beyond the River, sent unto Darius the king; Contemporary English Version Governor Tattenai, Shethar Bozenai, and their advisors sent a report to Darius, English Revised Version The copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor beyond the river, and Shethar-bozenai, and his companions the Apharsachites, which were beyond the river, sent unto Darius the king: GOD'S WORD® Translation Here is a copy of the letter Governor Tattenai [from the province] west of the Euphrates River, Shethar Bozenai and his group (the Persians west of that river) sent to King Darius. Good News Translation This is the report that they sent to the emperor: International Standard Version Here is a copy of the letter that Trans-Euphrates Governor Tattenai, Shethar-bozenai, and his colleagues the Trans-Euphrates Persians sent to King Darius. NET Bible This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and his colleagues who were the officials of Trans-Euphrates sent to King Darius. New Heart English Bible The copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, and Shetharbozenai, and his companions the Apharsachites, who were beyond the River, sent to Darayavush the king; Webster's Bible Translation The copy of the letter that Tatnai, governor on this side of the river, and Shethar-boznai, and his companions the Apharsachites, who were on this side of the river, sent to Darius the king: Majority Text Translations Majority Standard BibleThis is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius. World English Bible The copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, and Shetharbozenai, and his companions the Apharsachites who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king follows. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionThe copy of a letter that Tatnai, governor beyond the river, has sent, and Shethar-Boznai and his companions, the Apharsachites who [are] beyond the river, to Darius the king. Young's Literal Translation The copy of a letter that Tatnai, governor beyond the river, hath sent, and Shethar-Boznai and his companions, the Apharsachites who are beyond the river, unto Darius the king. Smith's Literal Translation The copy of the epistle that Tatnai, prefect beyond the river, sent, and Shethar-Bozni and his colleagues, the Apharsachites, that were beyond the river to Darius the king: Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleThe copy of the letter that Thathanai governor of the country beyond the river, and Stharbuzanai, and his counsellors the Arphasachites, who dwelt beyond the river, sent to Darius the king. Catholic Public Domain Version A copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor of the region beyond the river, and Shetharbozenai, and his counselors, the rulers who were beyond the river, sent to Darius the king. New American Bible A copy of the letter which Tattenai, governor of West-of-Euphrates, along with Shethar-bozenai and their fellow officials from West-of-Euphrates, sent to King Darius; New Revised Standard Version The copy of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and his associates the envoys who were in the province Beyond the River sent to King Darius; Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleThe copy of the letter that Tatnai, the governor on this side of the River, and Ashtanbozan and his companions on this side of the River, sent to Darius the king; Peshitta Holy Bible Translated A copy of the letter which Tatni, the Ruler of the Crossing of the River, sent, and Ashtanbuzan and his companions of the Crossing of the River to King Darius. OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917The copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai, and his companions the Apharesachites, who were beyond the River, sent unto Darius the king; Brenton Septuagint Translation the copy of a letter, which Thanthanai, the governor of the part on this side the river, and Satharbuzanai, and their fellow-servants the Apharsachaeans who were on this side of the river, sent to king Darius. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Tattenai's Letter to Darius6This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius. 7The report they sent him read as follows: To King Darius: All peace.… Cross References Ezra 4:11-16 (This is the text of the letter they sent to him.) To King Artaxerxes, From your servants, the men west of the Euphrates: / Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you to us have returned to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring its walls and repairing its foundations. / Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, they will not pay tribute, duty, or toll, and the royal treasury will suffer. ... Nehemiah 2:7-9 I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may letters be given to me for the governors west of the Euphrates, so that they will grant me safe passage until I reach Judah. / And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house I will occupy.” And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests. / Then I went to the governors west of the Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me. Daniel 6:25-28 Then King Darius wrote to the people of every nation and language throughout the land: “May your prosperity abound. / I hereby decree that in every part of my kingdom, men are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel: For He is the living God, and He endures forever; His kingdom will never be destroyed, and His dominion will never end. / He delivers and rescues; He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth, for He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” ... Esther 3:12-13 On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal scribes were summoned and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded the royal satraps, the governors of each province, and the officials of each people, in the script of each province and the language of every people. It was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the royal signet ring. / And the letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces with the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—and to plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month. 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows: / “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. Whoever among you belongs to His people, may the LORD his God be with him, and may he go up.’” Haggai 1:1-2 In the second year of the reign of Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, stating / that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.’” Zechariah 1:1 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying: 1 Kings 5:8-10 Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying: “I have received your message; I will do all you desire regarding the cedar and cypress timber. / My servants will haul the logs from Lebanon to the Sea, and I will float them as rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate the logs, and you can take them away. And in exchange, you can meet my needs by providing my household with food.” / So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted, 2 Kings 17:3-4 Shalmaneser king of Assyria attacked him, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. / But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea had conspired to send envoys to King So of Egypt, and that he had not paid tribute to the king of Assyria as in previous years. Therefore the king of Assyria arrested Hoshea and put him in prison. Jeremiah 29:1-3 This is the text of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets, and all the others Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. / (This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had been exiled from Jerusalem.) / The letter was entrusted to Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It stated: Acts 23:25-30 And he wrote the following letter: / Claudius Lysias, To His Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings. / This man was seized by the Jews, and they were about to kill him when I came with my troops to rescue him. For I had learned that he is a Roman citizen, ... Acts 15:23-29 and sent them with this letter: The apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. / It has come to our attention that some went out from us without our authorization and unsettled you, troubling your minds by what they said. / So we all agreed to choose men to send to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, ... Romans 13:1-7 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God. / Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. / For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval. ... 1 Peter 2:13-17 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority, / or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. / For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men. ... Acts 25:26-27 I have nothing definite to write to our sovereign about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this inquiry I may have something to write. / For it seems unreasonable to me to send on a prisoner without specifying the charges against him.” Treasury of Scripture The copy of the letter that Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shetharboznai and his companions the Apharsachites, which were on this side the river, sent to Darius the king: A. Ezra 4:11,23 This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king; Thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time… Apharsachites Ezra 4:9 Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions; the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites, Apharsathchites Ezra 6:6 Now therefore, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shetharboznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence: Jump to Previous Apharesachites Apharsachites Associates Colleagues Companions Copy Darius enai Friends Governor Letter Officials Province River Ruler Shetharbozenai Shethar-Bozenai She'thar-Boz'enai Shetharboznai Shethar-Boznai Side Tatnai Tattenai Tat'tenai Trans-EuphratesJump to Next Apharesachites Apharsachites Associates Colleagues Companions Copy Darius enai Friends Governor Letter Officials Province River Ruler Shetharbozenai Shethar-Bozenai She'thar-Boz'enai Shetharboznai Shethar-Boznai Side Tatnai Tattenai Tat'tenai Trans-EuphratesEzra 5 1. Zerubbabel and Jeshua, incited by Haggai and Zechariah, set forward to building3. Tattenai and Shethar-Bozenai are not able to hinder the Jews 6. Their letter to Darius against the Jews This is the text of the letter This phrase introduces a formal communication, a common practice in ancient Near Eastern governance. Letters were often used to report, request, or seek clarification from higher authorities. The use of written correspondence underscores the administrative structure and the importance of documentation in the Persian Empire. that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates Shethar-bozenai, and their associates the officials in the region sent to King Darius Persons / Places / Events 1. TattenaiThe governor of the region west of the Euphrates River during the time of the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple. He played a significant role in questioning the authority of the Jews to rebuild the temple. 2. Shethar-bozenai An associate of Tattenai, involved in the administration of the region and in the inquiry about the temple reconstruction. 3. Region West of the Euphrates This area, also known as "Beyond the River," was a significant administrative district in the Persian Empire, which included the land of Judah. 4. King Darius The Persian king during whose reign the temple reconstruction was resumed. His response to the inquiry was crucial for the continuation of the work. 5. The Letter A formal communication sent by Tattenai and his associates to King Darius, questioning the legitimacy of the temple reconstruction and seeking royal confirmation. Teaching Points God's Sovereignty in GovernanceDespite political challenges, God uses rulers and officials to accomplish His purposes. Believers can trust in God's control over governmental authorities. The Importance of Legal and Historical Precedent The Jews relied on the decree of Cyrus as a legal basis for their actions. Understanding and utilizing historical and legal precedents can be important in advocating for religious freedoms. Faithfulness Amidst Opposition The Jews faced opposition but continued their work. Believers are encouraged to remain faithful to God's calling, even when facing external challenges. The Role of Prophetic Encouragement Prophets like Haggai and Zechariah played a crucial role in motivating the people. Spiritual encouragement from leaders and peers is vital in pursuing God's work. Seeking Divine Guidance in Decision-Making The inquiry to King Darius reflects a search for guidance. Believers should seek God's wisdom and guidance in their decisions, especially when facing uncertainty. Lists and Questions Top 10 Lessons from Ezra 5(Ezra 5:3) Is there any independent archaeological or historical evidence confirming Tattenai’s governorship and actions described here? Is there any external historical evidence supporting the swift completion of the Temple described in Ezra 6:13-15? (Ezra 5:17) How do we resolve apparent inconsistencies between this passage's account of Persian rule and known Persian chronology? Why does the text mention the precise return of gold and silver vessels in Ezra 6:5 if many of these items likely disappeared over time?(6) The copy of the letter.--This letter of Tatnai is introduced much in the same way as Helium's; but its dispassionateness and good faith are in striking contrast with the latter. Apharsachites.--Probably here the same as the Apharsites before, and suggesting some kind of Persian guard. But the reason of their introduction specifically here is obscure. Verse 6. - The Apharsachites recall the "Apharsites" and the "Apharsathchites" of Ezra 4:9. Possibly all the three forms are provincial variants of the more correct Parsaya, which appears in Daniel (Daniel 6:28) as the Chaldaean equivalent of "Persian." Here the Apharsachite "companions" of Tatnai and Shethar-boznai are perhaps the actual Persians who formed their body-guard and their train.Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew This is the textפַּרְשֶׁ֣גֶן (par·še·ḡen) Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's 6573: A transcript of the letter אִ֠גַּרְתָּא (’ig·gar·tā) Noun - feminine singular determinate Strong's 104: An epistle that דִּֽי־ (dî-) Pronoun - relative Strong's 1768: Who, which, that, because Tattenai תַּתְּנַ֣י ׀ (tat·tə·nay) Noun - proper - masculine singular Strong's 8674: Tattenai the governor פַּחַ֣ת (pa·ḥaṯ) Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's 6347: A governor of the region west עֲבַֽר־ (‘ă·ḇar-) Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's 5675: A region across, on the opposite side of the Euphrates, נַהֲרָ֗ה (na·hă·rāh) Noun - masculine singular determinate Strong's 5103: A river, the Euphrates Shethar-bozenai, בּוֹזְנַי֙ (bō·wz·nay) Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - masculine singular Strong's 8370: Shethar-bozenai -- a person official and their associates, וּכְנָ֣וָתֵ֔הּ (ū·ḵə·nā·wā·ṯêh) Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular Strong's 3675: An associate the officials אֲפַ֨רְסְכָיֵ֔א (’ă·p̄ar·sə·ḵā·yê) Noun - proper - masculine plural determinate Strong's 671: An Apharsekite, Apharsathkite in the region, בַּעֲבַ֣ר (ba·‘ă·ḇar) Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's 5675: A region across, on the opposite side sent שְׁלַ֞ח (šə·laḥ) Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 7972: To send away, for, out to עַל־ (‘al-) Preposition Strong's 5922: Above, over, upon, against King מַלְכָּֽא׃ (mal·kā) Noun - masculine singular determinate Strong's 4430: A king Darius. דָּרְיָ֖וֶשׁ (dā·rə·yā·weš) Noun - proper - masculine singular Strong's 1868: Darius -- two person kings Links Ezra 5:6 NIVEzra 5:6 NLT Ezra 5:6 ESV Ezra 5:6 NASB Ezra 5:6 KJV Ezra 5:6 BibleApps.com Ezra 5:6 Biblia Paralela Ezra 5:6 Chinese Bible Ezra 5:6 French Bible Ezra 5:6 Catholic Bible OT History: Ezra 5:6 The copy of the letter that Tattenai (Ezr. 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