A Decree Makes the Men Stop Rebuilding

¹⁷ Then the king sent an edict to Rehum the commander, to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and in the rest of the provinces beyond the River: “Peace. And now—

² according to the ^(A)foreknowledge of God the Father, ^(B)by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to the ^(C)obedience of Jesus Christ and the ^(D)sprinkling of His blood: ^(E)May grace and peace be multiplied to you.