“ The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says,‘ You sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem. You also sent them to Zephaniah the priest. He is the son of Maaseiah. And you sent them to all the other priests. You said to Zephaniah,

万军之耶和华以色列的神如此说：你曾用自己的名寄信给耶路撒冷的众民和祭司玛西雅的儿子西番雅，并众祭司，说：

万军之耶和华—以色列的上帝如此说：你曾用自己的名送信给耶路撒冷的众百姓和玛西雅的儿子西番雅祭司，并众祭司，说：

万军之耶和华—以色列的神如此说：你曾用自己的名送信给耶路撒冷的众百姓和玛西雅的儿子西番雅祭司，并众祭司，说：

“以色列的上帝——万军之耶和华说，你曾以自己的名义写信给住在耶路撒冷的众民、玛西雅的儿子西番雅祭司及其他祭司。你在信中对西番雅说，

‘万军之耶和华以色列的神这样说：你曾用自己的名寄信给在耶路撒冷的众民、玛西雅祭司的儿子西番雅，和众祭司，说：

萬軍之耶和華－以色列的神如此說：你曾用自己的名寄信給耶路撒冷的眾民和祭司瑪西雅的兒子西番雅，並眾祭司，說：

萬軍之耶和華－以色列的上帝如此說：你曾用自己的名送信給耶路撒冷的眾百姓和瑪西雅的兒子西番雅祭司，並眾祭司，說：

萬軍之耶和華－以色列的神如此說：你曾用自己的名送信給耶路撒冷的眾百姓和瑪西雅的兒子西番雅祭司，並眾祭司，說：

「以色列的上帝——萬軍之耶和華說，你曾以自己的名義寫信給住在耶路撒冷的眾民、瑪西雅的兒子西番雅祭司及其他祭司。你在信中對西番雅說，

‘萬軍之耶和華以色列的神這樣說：你曾用自己的名寄信給在耶路撒冷的眾民、瑪西雅祭司的兒子西番雅，和眾祭司，說：

『萬軍之永恆主以色列之上帝這麼說：你曾用自己的名寄信給在耶路撒冷的眾民，給祭司瑪西雅的兒子西番雅、和眾祭司說：

萬軍之耶和華、以色列之上帝云、爾以己名、致書於耶路撒冷民眾、及祭司瑪西雅子西番雅、與諸祭司曰、

萬有之主以色列族之上帝耶和華云、爾曾書達耶路撒冷居民、與馬西雅子祭司西番雅及眾祭司、書曰、

萬有之主以色列之天主如是云、爾曾恃己名、寄書達於耶路撒冷居民、與祭司瑪西雅子西番亞、及眾祭司曰、

“ This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the other priests. You said to Zephaniah,

“ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

“ This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: You wrote a letter on your own authority to Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the priest, and you sent copies to the other priests and people in Jerusalem. You wrote to Zephaniah,

“ This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You in your own name have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying,

“ This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says:‘ Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to the priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying,

Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thine own name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

“ This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: You in your own name have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying:

Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that[ are] at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

that the LORD God of Israel who rules over all has a message for him. Tell him,‘ On your own initiative you sent a letter to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah and to all the other priests and to all the people in Jerusalem. In your letter you said to Zephaniah,

“ Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says,‘ Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

But King Zedekiah sent Jehukal to Jeremiah the prophet. Zedekiah sent Zephaniah the priest along with him. Jehukal was the son of Shelemiah. Zephaniah was the son of Maaseiah. Jehukal and Zephaniah brought the king’s message to Jeremiah. It said,“ Please pray to the Lord our God for us.”

But Zephaniah the priest read the letter to me.

The commander of the guard took many prisoners. They included Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the priest who reported to him. They also included the three men who guarded the temple doors.

During that time Sennacherib received a report. He was told that Tirhakah was marching out to fight against him. Tirhakah was the king of Cush. Sennacherib sent messengers again to Hezekiah with a letter. Sennacherib said,

Tobiah’s friends kept reporting to me the good things he did. They also kept telling him what I said. And Tobiah himself sent letters to scare me.

A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. It came when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur to Jeremiah. Pashhur was the son of Malkijah. Zedekiah sent Zephaniah the priest along with him. Zephaniah was the son of Maaseiah. They said to Jeremiah,“ Ask the Lord to help us. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. In the past the Lord did wonderful things for us. Maybe he’ll do them again. Then Nebuchadnezzar will pull his armies back from us.”

In those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah. And replies from Tobiah came back to them.

The king also wrote letters against the Lord. His letters made fun of the God of Israel. They said,“ The peoples of other lands have their gods. But those gods didn’t save their people from my power. So the god of Hezekiah won’t save his people from my power either.”

Ahab’s royal family in the city of Samaria had a total of 70 sons. Jehu wrote some letters to the officials of the city. He also sent them to the elders there. And he sent them to the people who took care of Ahab’s children. Jehu said,“ Your master’s sons are with you. You also have chariots and horses and weapons. And you are living in a city that has high walls around it. As soon as you read this letter, here’s what I want you to do.Choose the best and most respected son of your master. Place him on his father Joram’s throne. Then fight for your master’s royal house.”The leaders of Samaria were terrified. They said,“ King Joram and King Ahaziah couldn’t stand up against Jehu. So how can we?”The city governor and the person in charge of the palace sent a message to Jehu. The message was also from the elders and the people who took care of Ahab’s children. In the message, they said,“ We will serve you. We’ll do anything you say. We won’t appoint anyone to be king. Do what you think is best.”Then Jehu wrote them a second letter. He said,“ You say you are on my side. You say you will obey me. If you really mean it, bring me the heads of your master’s sons. Meet me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow.” There were 70 royal princes. They were with the most important men of the city. Those men were in charge of raising them.When Jehu’s letter arrived, the men went and got the princes. They killed all 70 of them. They put their heads in baskets. Then they sent them to Jehu in Jezreel.

The commander of the guard took some prisoners. They included Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the priest who was next in rank. They also included the three men who guarded the temple doors.Some people were still left in the city. The commander took as a prisoner the officer who was in charge of the fighting men. He took the five men who gave advice to the king. He also took the secretary. He was the chief officer in charge of getting the people of the land to serve in the army. And he took 60 of those people serving in the army who were still in the city.Nebuzaradan the commander took all of them away. He brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.There the king had them put to death. Riblah was in the land of Hamath. So the people of Judah were taken as prisoners. They were taken far away from their own land.

Then Artaxerxes became king of Persia. During his rule, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and their friends wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. It was written in the Aramaic language. And it used the Aramaic alphabet.Rehum and Shimshai also wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes. Rehum was the commanding officer. Shimshai was the secretary. Their letter was against the people of Jerusalem. It said,We, Rehum and Shimshai, are writing this letter. Rehum is the commanding officer. Shimshai is the secretary. Our friends join us in writing. They include the judges, officials and managers in charge of the people from Persia, Uruk and Babylon. They are also over the Elamites from Susa.And they are over those who were forced to leave their countries. The great King Ashurbanipal, who is worthy of honor, forced them to leave. He moved them to the city of Samaria. He also moved them to other places west of the Euphrates River.Here is a copy of the letter sent to Artaxerxes. We are sending this letter to you, King Artaxerxes. It is from your servants who live west of the Euphrates River.We want you to know about the people who left you and have come up to us. They have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that evil city. It has caused trouble for a long time. Those people are making its walls like new again. They are repairing the foundations.Here is something else we want you to know. Suppose this city is rebuilt. And suppose its walls are made like new again. Then no more taxes, gifts or fees will be collected. And sooner or later there will be less money for you.We owe a lot to you. We don’t want to see dishonor brought on you. So we’re sending this letter to tell you what is going on.Then you can have a search made in the official records. Have someone check the records of the kings who ruled before you. If you do, you will find out that Jerusalem is an evil city. It causes trouble for kings and countries. For a long time the city has refused to let anyone rule over it. That’s why it was destroyed.We want you to know that this city shouldn’t be rebuilt. Its walls shouldn’t be made like new again. If that happens, you won’t have anything left west of the Euphrates River.

So she wrote some letters in Ahab’s name. She stamped them with his royal seal. Then she sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in the city where Naboth lived.In those letters she wrote,“ Announce a day when people are supposed to go without eating. Have Naboth sit in an important place among the people.But put two worthless and evil men in seats across from him. Have them bring charges that he has cursed God and the king. Then take him out of the city. Kill him by throwing stones at him.”So the elders and nobles who lived in that city did what Jezebel wanted. They did everything she directed in the letters she had written to them.They announced a day of fasting. They had Naboth sit in an important place among the people.Then two worthless and evil men came and sat across from him. They brought charges against Naboth in front of the people. The two men said,“ Naboth has cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city. They killed him by throwing stones at him.

He asked the priest for letters to the synagogues in Damascus. He wanted to find men and women who belonged to the Way of Jesus. The letters would allow him to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

When Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers, he read it. Then he went up to the Lord’ s temple. There he spread the letter out in front of the Lord.

Sanballat sent his helper to me a fifth time. He brought the same message. He was carrying a letter that wasn’t sealed.