¹⁷ Then King Artaxerxes sent this reply:

⁷ I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people.

May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

⁵ “Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’

⁹ They greeted the king for all their colleagues—the judges and local leaders, the people of Tarpel, the Persians, the Babylonians, and the people of Erech and Susa (that is, Elam). ¹⁰ They also sent greetings from the rest of the people whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal^[a] had deported and relocated in Samaria and throughout the neighboring lands of the province west of the Euphrates River.^{[b] 11} This is a copy of their letter:

⁷ Even later, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia,^[a] the enemies of Judah, led by Bishlam, Mithredath, and Tabeel, sent a letter to Artaxerxes in the Aramaic language, and it was translated for the king.