⁵ These enemies hired government officials to work against the people of Judah. The officials constantly did things to stop the Jews’ plans to build the Temple. This continued the whole time that Cyrus was the king until Darius became the king of Persia.

⁶ These enemies even wrote letters to the king of Persia trying to stop the Jews. They wrote a letter the year that Xerxes^[a] became the king of Persia.

Enemies Against Rebuilding Jerusalem

⁷ Later, when Artaxerxes became the new king of Persia, some of these men wrote another letter complaining about the Jews. The men who wrote the letter were Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the other people in their group. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.^[b]