1
When the enemies of Y'hudah and Binyamin heard that the people from the exile were building a temple to ADONAI the God of Isra'el,
2
they approached Z'rubavel and the heads of fathers' clans and said to them, "Let us build along with you; for we seek your God, just as you do; and we have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esar-Hadon king of Ashur, who brought us here."
3
But Z'rubavel, Yeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers' clans in Isra'el answered them, "You and we have nothing in common that you should join us in building a house for our God. We will build by ourselves for ADONAI the God of Isra'el, as Koresh king of Persia ordered us to do."
4
Then the people of the land began discouraging the people of Y'hudah, in order to make them afraid to build.
5
They also bribed officials to frustrate their plan throughout the lifetime of Koresh king of Persia and on into the reign of Daryavesh king of Persia.
6
During the reign of Achashverosh, at the beginning of his reign, they brought a charge in writing against the people living in Y'hudah and Yerushalayim.
7
Then, during the time of Artach'shashta, Bishlam, Mitr'dat, Tav'el and their other colleagues wrote Artach'shashta; the letter was written in Aramaic, using Aramaic script.