3. Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the heads of the clans said to them, “We don't need your help to build a temple for the Lord our God. We will build it ourselves, just as Cyrus, emperor of Persia, commanded us.”
4. Then the people who had been living in the land tried to discourage and frighten the Jews and keep them from building.
5. They also bribed Persian government officials to work against them. They kept on doing this throughout the reign of Cyrus and into the reign of Darius.
6. At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes the emperor, the enemies of the people living in Judah and Jerusalem brought written charges against them.
7. Again, in the reign of Artaxerxes, emperor of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their associates wrote a letter to the emperor. The letter was written in Aramaic and was to be translated when read.
8. Also Rehum, the governor, and Shimshai, the secretary of the province, wrote the following letter to Artaxerxes about Jerusalem:
9. “From Rehum, the governor, from Shimshai, secretary of the province, from their associates, the judges, and from all the other officials, who are men originally from Erech, Babylon, and Susa in the land of Elam,