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1Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity were building a temple to the LORD , the God of Israel ,
2they came near to Zerubbabel , and to the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them , “Let us build with you , for we seek your God as you do; and we have been sacrificing to him since the days of Esar Haddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here .”
3But Zerubbabel , Jeshua , and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them , “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God ; but we ourselves together will build to the LORD , the God of Israel , as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us .”
4Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah , and troubled them in building .
5They hired counsellors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia , even until the reign of Darius king of Persia .
6In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign , they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem .
7In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam , Mithredath , Tabeel , and the rest of his companions wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia ; and the writing of the letter was written in Syrian and delivered in the Syrian language.
8Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows .
9Then Rehum the chancellor , Shimshai the scribe , and the rest of their companions , the Dinaites , and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites , the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites, the Elamites ,
10and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar brought over and settled in the city of Samaria , and in the rest of the country beyond the River , and so forth, wrote.
11This is the copy of the letter that they sent :
17Then the king sent an answer to Rehum the chancellor , and to Shimshai the scribe , and to the rest of their companions who live in Samaria , and in the rest of the country beyond the River :
23Then when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum , Shimshai the scribe , and their companions , they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews , and made them to cease by force of arms .
24Then work stopped on God’s house which is at Jerusalem . It stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia .