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,