[:en]When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building the temple of the Lord, they came to Zerubbabel and heads of the families and offered to help the rebuilding. But Zerubbabel, Jeshua and the rest of the head of the families of Israel rejected their offer. So the people around them set out plans to discourage the people of Judah. They hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus, king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius, king of Persia (vs. 3-5)
During the reign of Xerxes, they sent a letter to king Artaxerxes accusing them of rebellion. The king then issued an order to stop the work until the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia.[:]