Ezra 4:3

3 Zerubbabel and Jeshua answered them. So did the rest of the family leaders of Israel. They said, "You can't help us build a temple to honor our God. You aren't part of us. We'll build it ourselves. We'll do it to honor the Lord. He is the God of Israel. Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us to build it."

Ezra 4:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 4:3

But Zerubbabel, and Joshua, and the rest of the chief of the
fathers, said unto them
The prince and high priest, and chief of the people:

you have nothing to do with us to build an house to our God;
being neither of the same nation, nor of the same religion:

but we ourselves together will build to the Lord God of Israel;
we and we only, who are together as one man, united in one body of people, and in the same religious sentiments, being Israelites; we separately, without admitting strangers among us, will build a temple to the God of Israel:

as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, hath commanded us;
thereby letting them know that they acted by his authority, and the commission they had from him only concerned themselves, and not others.

Ezra 4:3 In-Context

1 The enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard about what the people who had returned from Babylonia were doing. They heard that they were building a temple to honor the Lord. He is the God of Israel.

2 The enemies came to Zerubbabel. The family leaders of Israel were with him. The enemies said, "We want to help you build. We're just like you. We worship your God. We offer sacrifices to him. We've been doing that ever since the time of Esarhaddon. He was king of Assyria. He brought our people here."

3 Zerubbabel and Jeshua answered them. So did the rest of the family leaders of Israel. They said, "You can't help us build a temple to honor our God. You aren't part of us. We'll build it ourselves. We'll do it to honor the Lord. He is the God of Israel. Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us to build it."

4 Then the nations that were around Judah tried to make its people lose hope. They wanted to make them afraid to go on building.

5 So they hired advisers to work against them. They wanted their plans to fail. They did it during the whole time Cyrus was king of Persia. They kept doing it until Darius became king.