Now when the  ¹adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity were building a temple to Jehovah the God of Israel,

They drew near to Zerubbabel and to the heads of fathers' houses 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 Esarhaddon the king of Assyria, who brought us up here.

But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers' houses 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 Jehovah the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.

Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah and troubled them in building.

And they hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus the king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius the king of Persia.

And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions wrote to Artaxerxes the king of Persia; and the script of the letter was written in Aramaic and translated into Aramaic.

 ¹Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows

(Then Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions, the judges, and the officials, the Tarpelites, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is the Elamites,

And the rest of the nations, whom the great and noble Osnappar carried into exile and settled in the city of Samaria and in the rest of the province beyond the River, wrote. And now

This is the copy of the letter that they sent to him): To Artaxerxes the king, from your servants the men beyond the River. And now

Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us to Jerusalem; they are rebuilding the rebellious and evil city and are finishing the walls and have repaired the foundations.

Now let it be known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls are finished, they will not pay tribute, taxes, or tolls; and in the end it will cause damage to the kings.

Now because  ¹we eat the salt of the palace, and it is not fitting for us to see the king's dishonor, we therefore have sent this letter to inform the king,

So that a search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers, and you may find in the book of the records and know that this city is a rebellious city and one that causes damage to kings and provinces and that they have stirred up sedition within it in times past; for which reason this city was laid waste.

We inform the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, then you will have no portion beyond the River.

Then the king sent an answer to Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their companions who dwelt in Samaria and in the rest of the province beyond the River: Greetings. And now

The letter which you sent to us has been read before me in translation.

And a decree has been issued by me, and a search has been made; and it was found that this city in times past has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it,

And that there have been mighty kings over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all the lands beyond the River; and tribute, taxes and tolls were paid to them.

Now make a decree to stop these men, so that this city is not rebuilt until a decree is made by me.

And take care not to be negligent in this. Why should damage grow to the detriment of the kings?

Then when the copy of King Artaxerxes's letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their companions, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews and stopped them by force and power.

So the work of the house of God, which is in Jerusalem, ceased; and it was stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius the king of Persia.

Now the  ¹prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.

Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God, which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, helping them.

At the same time Tattenai the governor beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their companions came to them and spoke to them in this way, Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this wall?

Then we told them accordingly what the names of the men were who were constructing this building.

But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them, until a report went to Darius; and then an answer was returned by letter concerning it.

This is the copy of the letter that Tattenai the governor beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and his companions the officials, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king;

They sent a report to him in which was written as follows, To Darius the king, all peace.

Let it be known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, which is being built with large stones, and timber is being laid in the walls; and this work is being conducted with diligence and prospers in their hands.

Then we asked those elders, speaking to them in this way, Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this wall?

We also asked them their names in order to inform you, so that we might write down the names of the men who were at their head.

And they returned us an answer in this way, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth and are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.

But because our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to anger, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried the people away to Babylon.

But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon, King Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God.

And also the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, these King Cyrus took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were given to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor;

And he said to him, Take these vessels, go and put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt in its place.

Then the same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God, which is in Jerusalem; and since that time even until now it has been under construction and has not yet been finished.

Now therefore if it seems good to the king, let a search be made in the king's treasure house, which is there in Babylon, to see whether it is the case that a decree was made by King Cyrus for the building of this house of God in Jerusalem; and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this.

Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon.

And a scroll was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of Media, and on it this was written as a record:

In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: Let the house be built, the place where they offer sacrifices; and let its foundations be raised, its height being sixty cubits, and its width sixty cubits,

With three layers of large stones, and one layer of timber; and let the expenses be given out of the king's house.

And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and brought again to the temple which is in Jerusalem, to its place; and you shall put them in the house of God.

Now therefore, Tattenai the governor beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and your companions the officials, in the province beyond the River, keep far away from there.

Leave the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site.

Moreover I make a decree concerning what you are to do for these elders of the Jews for the building of this house of God: From the property of the king, even the tribute of the province beyond the River, expenses are to be given in full to these men that the work not cease.

And whatever is needed, young bulls and rams and lambs, for burnt offerings to the God of heaven; also wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the word of the priests who are in Jerusalem, let it be given to them day by day without fail,

That they may offer incense to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons.

Also I have made a decree that whoever alters this word, timber shall be pulled out from his house, and he shall be lifted up and impaled on it, and his house shall be made a dunghill on account of this.

And may the God who has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who put forth their hand to alter this or to destroy this house of God, which is in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have made a decree; let it be carried out with all diligence.

Then Tattenai the governor beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their companions, carried out everything with all diligence according to what Darius the king had sent order to do.

And the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and according to the decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes the king of Persia.

And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.

And they offered for the dedication of this house of God one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

And they set the priests in their courses and the Levites in their divisions for the service of God, which is in Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.

And the children of the captivity held the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.

For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were pure. Then they slaughtered the passover for all the children of the captivity and for their brothers the priests and for themselves.

And the children of Israel who returned from the captivity and all who had separated themselves from the defilement of the nations of the land to join them, to seek Jehovah the God of Israel, ate the passover

And held the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for Jehovah had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the  ¹king of Assyria to them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.