Opposition to Rebuilding the Temple

When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin(A) heard that the returned exiles[a](B) were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the family heads and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we also worship your God and have been sacrificing to him[b] since the time King Esar-haddon of Assyria brought us here.”(C)

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Footnotes

  1. 4:1 Lit the sons of the exile
  2. 4:2 Alt Hb tradition reads have not been sacrificing

Opposition to the Rebuilding

When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building(A) a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon(B) king of Assyria, who brought us here.”(C)

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