Ezra 4:1-3

Contemporary English Version

Foreigners^[a] Want To Help Rebuild the Temple

4 The enemies of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people had come back to rebuild the temple of the Lord God of Israel. ²^(A) So they went to Zerubbabel and to the family leaders and said, “Let us help! Ever since King Esarhaddon of Assyria^[b] brought us here, we have worshiped your God and offered sacrifices to him.”

³But Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the family leaders answered, “You cannot take part in building a temple for the Lord our God! We will build it ourselves, just as King Cyrus of Persia commanded us.”

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Footnotes

4.1 Foreigners: People from foreign countries who had been captured by Assyrian and Babylonian kings and forced to settle in Palestine.
4.2 King Esarhaddon of Assyria: Ruled from 681 to 669 b.c. These people may have been brought to Palestine in 677 or 676 b.c., when Esarhaddon invaded Syria.