1 Esdras 4:6-8

Revised Standard Version

⁶ Likewise those who do not serve in the army or make war but till the soil, whenever they sow, reap the harvest and bring some to the king; and they compel one another to pay taxes to the king. ⁷ And yet he is only one man! If he tells them to kill, they kill; if he tells them to release, they release; ⁸ if he tells them to attack, they attack; if he tells them to lay waste, they lay waste; if he tells them to build, they build;