Study Desk

Now when ^(a)the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that ^(b)the people of the exile were building a temple to the Lord God of Israel,

they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' households, and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; ^(c)and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of ^(d)Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here."

But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers' households of Israel said to them, "^(e)You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the Lord God of Israel, ^(f)as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us."