1. When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple for Adonai the God of Israel,
2. they approached Zerubbabel and the leading patriarchs and said to them, “Let us build with you, for like you we seek your God and have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, who brought us here.”
3. But Zerubbabel, Jeshua and the rest of the prominent patriarchs of Israel said to them, “It is not for you and us to build a House for our God—but we alone will build it for Adonai the God of Israel, just as Cyrus—king of Persia—has commanded us.”
4. Then the people of the land began discouraging the people of Judah and making them afraid to build.
5. They bribed advisors in order to thwart their plans all the days of King Cyrus of Persia and until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
6. During the reign of Ahasuerus at the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
7. Also during the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.
8. Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter concerning Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:
9. From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates—the judges and the officials, the magistrates, and governors over the Erechites, the Babylonians, the people of Susa (that is, the Elamites)
10. and the rest of the peoples whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the city of Samaria and the rest of Trans-Euphrates. (Now
11. this is a copy of the letter they sent to him.) To Artaxerxes the king, from your servants, the men of Trans-Euphrates: Now