Ezra 4:3-5

Lexham English Bible

³ But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of the families^[a] of Israel said to them, “It is not for you but for us to build a house for our God. For we ourselves alone will build it for Yahweh the God of Israel, just as Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

⁴ Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah^[b] and made them afraid to build ⁵ and bribed officials against them to frustrate their plan for all the days of Cyrus king of Persia until the reign of Darius king of Persia.