Ezra 4:1-5; Ezra 4:24

Ezra 4:1-5

1 When the enemies of the people of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned captives were building a Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel,

2 they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders of the families. The enemies said, "Let us help you build, because we are like you and want to worship your God. We have been offering sacrifices to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here."

3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the leaders of Israel answered, "You will not help us build a Temple to our God. We will build it ourselves for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us to do."

4 Then the people around them tried to discourage the people of Judah by making them afraid to build.

5 Their enemies hired others to delay the building plans during the time Cyrus was king of Persia. And it continued to the time Darius was king of Persia.

Ezra 4:24

24 So the work on the Temple of God in Jerusalem stopped until the second year Darius was king of Persia.