2 they approached Zerubbabel and the family heads and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we also worship your God and have been sacrificing to himH since the time King Esar-haddon of Assyria brought us here.”x

3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other heads of Israel’s families answered them, “You may have no part with us in building a house for our God,y since we alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.”z 4 Then the people who were already in the land* discouragedJ the people of Judah and made them afraidaa to build. 5 They also bribed officials to act against them to frustrate their plansab throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia and until the reign of King Darius of Persia.ac

OPPOSITION TO REBUILDING THE CITY

6 At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus,ad the people who were already in the landae wrote an accusation against the residents of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 During the time of King Artaxerxes of Persia,af Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his colleagues wrote to King Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaica and translated.*

8 Rehum the chief deputy and Shimshai the scribeb wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes concerning Jerusalem as follows:

9 From RehumB the chief deputy, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues—the judges and magistratesC from Tripolis, Persia, Erech, Babylon, Susac (that is, the people of Elam),D 10 and the rest of the peoples whom the great and illustrious AshurbanipalE deported and settled in the cities of Samariad and the region west of the Euphrates River.e