Be it known unto the king
The intent of this letter was, that it might be known to the king
what follows:
that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto
Jerusalem;
this they observe partly out of contempt of the Jews, having been
lately captive in Babylon, and partly to insinuate what
ingratitude they were guilty of; that having got their liberty,
and come to Jerusalem, they made use of it to the king's
detriment:
building the rebellious and the bad city;
as they suggest it had been to kings, even his predecessors, in
former times, ( Ezra 4:15 )
and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the
foundations;
which was a falsehood; for the most they had done was setting up
the walls of their houses in Jerusalem, and laying the foundation
of the temple; as for the walls of the city, they had not as yet
done anything unto them.