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Ezra 4:2-4
New King James Version
Ezra 4:2-4
New King James Version
2 they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him (A)since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, (B)“You may do nothing with us to build a [a]house for our God; but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as (C)King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” 4 Then (D)the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building,
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- Ezra 4:3 Temple
Ezra 4:2-4
New Catholic Bible
Ezra 4:2-4
New Catholic Bible
2 they approached Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the heads of families and said: “Let us assist you as you build, for we reverence your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of King Esarhaddon of Assyria who brought us here.”
3 However, Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of Israelite families replied: “You shall have no share in the building of the house for our God. We alone shall build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus of Persia has commanded us.”
4 As a result, the people who lived around them became determined to discourage the people of Judah and to make them fearful of continuing to build.
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Ezra 4:2-4
New International Version
Ezra 4:2-4
New International Version
2 they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon(A) king of Assyria, who brought us here.”(B)
3 But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.”(C)
4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.[a](D)
Footnotes
- Ezra 4:4 Or and troubled them as they built
Ezra 4:2-4
English Standard Version
Ezra 4:2-4
English Standard Version
2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever (A)since the days of (B)Esarhaddon king of Assyria (C)who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers' houses in Israel said to them, (D)“You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, (E)as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”
4 Then (F)the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build
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New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.