²⁰ Therefore we now make known to you, O lord and king, that if this city is built and its walls finished, you will no longer have access to Coelesyria and Phoenicia.”^(A)

²¹ Then the king, in reply to the recorder Rehum, Beltethmus, the scribe Shimshai, and the others associated with them and living in Samaria and Syria and Phoenicia, wrote as follows:^(B)

²² “I have read the letter that you sent me. So I ordered search to be made, and it has been found that this city from of old has fought against kings, ²³ that the people in it were given to rebellion and war, and that mighty and cruel kings ruled in Jerusalem and exacted tribute from Coelesyria and Phoenicia.^{(C) 24} Therefore I have now issued orders to prevent these people from building the city and to take care that nothing more be done and that such wicked proceedings go no further to the annoyance of kings.”

²⁵ Then, when the letter from King Artaxerxes was read, Rehum and the scribe Shimshai and their associates went quickly to Jerusalem, with cavalry and a large number of armed troops, and began to hinder the builders. And the building of the temple in Jerusalem stopped until the second year of the reign of King Darius of the Persians.^(D)

⁵ Since he could not prevail over Onias, he went to Apollonius of Tarsus,^[a] who at that time was governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia,

⁴⁸ And he wrote letters to all the governors in Coelesyria and Phoenicia and to those in Lebanon, to bring cedar timber from Lebanon to Jerusalem and to help him build the city.^(A)

The Temple Is Dedicated

7 Then Sisinnes the governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia and Sathrabuzanes and their associates, following the orders of King Darius,^(A)

⁶⁴ They delivered the king’s orders to the royal stewards and to the governors of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, and these officials^[a] honored the nation and the temple of the Lord.^(A)