1
Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity were building the temple unto the LORD God of Israel,
2
then they came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, "Let us build with you, for we seek your God as ye do; and we have done sacrifice unto Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up hither."
3
But Zerubbabel and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel said unto them, "Ye have nothing to do with us in building a house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us."
4
Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,
5
and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
6
And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
7
And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of their companions wrote unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.