1The enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the sons of the captivity were building the temple to the LORD God of Israel.2They approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we seek your God just as you do; and we have been sacrificing to him from the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here."3Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the remnant of the heads of the fathers of Israel said to them, "It is not for you and for us to build a house to our God, for we build together to the LORD God of Israel, just as Cyrus king of Persia commanded us."4The people of the land slackened the hands of the people of Judah and troubled and dismayed them from building.5They hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel throughout all the days of Cyrus king of Persia and until the reign of Darius king of Persia.