Read the Modern Pastor’s Version

When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people who had been taken captive were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, they went to Zerubbabel and the leaders of the people and said, "Let us build with you. We worship your God just like you do, and we have been sacrificing to him since the days of King Esarhaddon of Assyria, who brought us here."

They also came to Zerubbabel and the leaders of each family group and said, "Let's work together on this project. We've been worshiping your God for a long time." But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other top leaders replied, "You can't join in building a house for our God. We'll do it ourselves, just like King Cyrus of Persia commanded us to."

The people from around them started making life difficult for the Jews who were rebuilding the temple, discouraging them from working on the project. They even hired experts to help sabotage their efforts, which continued all the way until the reign of King Darius.

During the early days of King Ahasuerus' rule, they wrote a letter accusing the people of Judah and Jerusalem, claiming that they were being rebellious. Later, when Artaxerxes was king, Bishlam and his friends wrote to him in both Aramaic and an interpretation of it in the same language, saying some pretty harsh things about the Jews.

A high-ranking official named Rehum and a scribe named Shimshai wrote another letter to King Artaxerxes, accusing the people of Judah and Jerusalem. They were joined by others from various regions who had been brought there by a great and noble leader named Asnapper. They lived in cities like Samaria and other places on this side of the river.

Their letter said, "To King Artaxerxes, our king, we're writing to you today." They told him that the Jews who had come from Judah were rebuilding Jerusalem, which they called a rebellious city against kings and provinces. If it was rebuilt with strong walls, they claimed that the Jews wouldn't pay taxes or tribute anymore.

They argued that since they'd received support from the king's palace, it wasn't right for them to stand by while this happened. So they wrote down their concerns and sent a report to the king, asking him to look into it in the records of his ancestors. They claimed that Jerusalem had been a troublemaker against kings and provinces for centuries.

They warned King Artaxerxes that if the city was rebuilt with strong walls, he would lose out on taxes from this side of the river. The king then sent a reply to Rehum, Shimshai, and their friends who lived in Samaria and other places beyond the river, saying "Peace," but also telling them not to let anyone rebuild Jerusalem until further instructions came.

When the letter was read before Rehum and his companions, they were quick to act. They rushed to Jerusalem to stop the Jews from working on God's house by force, which meant that the project had to come to a halt until King Darius' second year of reign over Persia.