Ezra 4:21-23

Complete Jewish Bible

²¹ “So now, order that these men stop work and that this city not be rebuilt until I order it. ²² Take care not to neglect your duty; otherwise the harm may increase, to the damage of the king.”
²³ When the text of King Artach’shashta’s letter was read before Rechum, Shimshai the secretary and their colleagues, they hurried to Yerushalayim to the Judeans and stopped their work by force of arms.