Ezra 4:2-4

New American Standard Bible

² they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for like you, we seek your God; ^(A)and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of ^(B)Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.” ³ But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, “^(C)You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build for the Lord God of Israel, ^(D)just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.”

⁴ Then ^(E)the people of the land ^[a]discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building,