Ezra 4

And those who afflicted Judah and Benjamin heard that the sons of the exile were building a house for the Lord, the God of Israel.

And they drew near to Zorobabel and to the heads of families, and said to them: Let us build with you, for like you we seek your God, and to him we sacrifice, from the days of Asaraddon king of Assour, who brought us here.

And Zorobabel and Jesus and the rest of the heads of families of Israel said to them: It is not for us and for you to build a house for our God; for we ourselves together will build for the Lord our God, as Cyrus the king of the Persians commanded us.

And the people of the land were weakening the hands of the people of Judah, and they hindered them from building,

and hiring men against them, plotting to frustrate their plan, all the days of Cyrus king of the Persians and until the reign of Darius king of the Persians.

And in the reign of Asoueros, at the beginning of his reign, they wrote a letter against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

And in the days of Arthasastha he wrote in peace to Mithradates, to Tabeel, together with the rest of his fellow servants, to Arthasastha king of the Persians; the tribute-collector wrote the document in Aramaic, and it was rendered into another tongue.

Raoum Baaltam and Samsai the scribe wrote one letter against Jerusalem to Arthasastha the king.

Thus decided Raoum Baaltam and Samsai the scribe and the rest of our fellow servants: the Dinaeans, the Apharsathachaeans, the Tarphallaeans, the Apharsaeans, the Archyaeans, the Babylonians, the Sousanachaeans, who are the Elamites,

and the rest of the nations whom Asennaphar the great and honorable carried away and settled in the cities of Somoron, and the remainder beyond the river.

This is the content of the letter which they sent to him: To Arthasastha the king — your servants, the men beyond the river.

Let it be known to the king that the Judeans who came up from you to us have come to Jerusalem; they are building that rebellious and wicked city, and its walls have been completed, and they have raised up its foundations.

Now therefore let it be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls completed, there will be no tribute for you, nor will they pay; and this does harm to kings.

And it is not permitted for us to look upon the dishonoring of the king; for this reason we have sent and made it known to the king,

that he may search in the book of the records of your fathers; and you will find and know that that city is a rebellious city, doing harm to kings and provinces, and that there have been hiding places of runaway slaves within it from ancient times; for these things that city was laid waste.

We therefore make known to the king that if that city is built and its walls completed, you will have no peace.

And the king sent to Raoum Baaltam and to Samsai the scribe and to the rest of their fellow servants who lived in Samaria and to the rest beyond the river: Peace. And he says:

The tribute-collector whom you sent to us was summoned before me.

And a decree was set by me, and we searched and found that that city from ancient days rises up against kings, and revolts and flights take place in it.

And mighty kings arise over Jerusalem, ruling all the region west of the river, and tributes were full, and a portion was given to them.

And now issue a decree to stop those men, and that city shall not be built any longer, so that it be according to the decree.

Be on your guard about making any slackness in this matter, lest destruction increase to the harm of kings.

Then the tribute-collector of Arthasastha the king read it before Raoum and Samsai the scribe and their fellow servants; and they went in haste to Jerusalem and into Judah, and stopped them with horses and with force.

Then the work of the house of God which is in Jerusalem ceased, and it remained idle until the second year of the reign of Darius king of the Persians.