Ezra 4:6-8

Christian Standard Bible

Opposition to Rebuilding the City

⁶ At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus,^(A) the people who were already in the land^(B) wrote an accusation against the residents of Judah and Jerusalem. ⁷ During the time of King Artaxerxes of Persia,^(C) Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his colleagues wrote to King Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic^(D) and translated.^[a]

⁸ Rehum the chief deputy and Shimshai the scribe^(E) wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes concerning Jerusalem as follows: