Ezra 4:1-3

New Catholic Bible

Chapter 4

Samaritan Interference. ¹ When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were in the process of building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, ² they approached Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the heads of families and said: “Let us assist you as you build, for we reverence your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of King Esarhaddon of Assyria who brought us here.”

³ However, Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of Israelite families replied: “You shall have no share in the building of the house for our God. We alone shall build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus of Persia has commanded us.”