⁴Then the people of that region discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to continue building. ⁵They bribed officials to keep the people of Judah from carrying out their plans throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius of Persia.

⁶When Xerxes began to rule, the enemies of Judah and Jerusalem wrote a letter in which they made an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

⁷Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their group wrote to him when Artaxerxes was king of Persia. The letter was written with the Aramaic script and translated into the Aramaic language.

⁸Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote another letter against ⸤the people of⸥ Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes. ⁹At that time, Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe were with the others of their group—the people from Denya, Partakka, Tarpel, Persia, Erech, Babylon, Susa, (that is, those of Elam), ¹⁰and the rest of the people whom the great and noble Assurbanipal deported. (Assurbanipal settled them in the cities of Samaria and the rest of the lands west of the Euphrates River.) ¹¹This is the copy of the letter they sent to him:

To King Artaxerxes,

From your servants, the people west of the Euphrates:

¹²Your Majesty, you should know that the Jews who came to us from you are now in Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are close to finishing the walls. The foundations are already in place. ¹³You should also know that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, the Jews will no longer pay taxes, fees, and tolls.

Ultimately, this will hurt the king’s income. ¹⁴Now, because we are paid by your palace, it isn’t right for us to watch something happen that will dishonor the king. So we are sending this letter to inform you ¹⁵that you should search the official records of your predecessors. You will find in those official records that this city has been rebellious and has been a threat to kings and provinces. This city has a history of rebelliousness. That’s why this city was destroyed. ¹⁶We want the king to know that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, you will have nothing left ⸤of your province⸥ west of the Euphrates River.

¹⁷Then the king sent this reply:

To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their group living in Samaria, and to others west of the Euphrates River:

I wish you peace and prosperity!

¹⁸The letter you sent me has been read word for word in my presence. ¹⁹I gave the order, and a search was made. I discovered that this city has a long history of uprisings against kings. Its inhabitants are guilty of treason and rebellion. ²⁰Jerusalem has had powerful kings who have ruled the whole ⸤province⸥ west of the Euphrates. Taxes, fees, and tolls were paid to them. ²¹So order these men to stop rebuilding. Keep this city from being rebuilt until I give the order. ²²Be careful not to neglect your duty in this matter. Why should I, the king, suffer any more harm?

²³Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and their group hurried to Jerusalem after hearing a copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter. They forced the Jews to stop rebuilding.

²⁴Then the work on God’s temple in Jerusalem was stopped. Nothing more was done until Darius’ second year as king of Persia.

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