Ezra 4:1–6

Now when athe adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that †the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel; 2 Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him bsince the days of Esar-haddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither. 3 *But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, cYe have nothing to do with us dto build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as eking Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us. 4 *Then fthe people of the land gweakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, 5 And hired counsellers against them, to hfrustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. 6 *And in the reign of †Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an iaccusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.