Ezra 4:1-5 - Resistance To Rebuilding The House Of God

¹ But when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel, ² they came to Zerubbabel and to the principal fathers, and said unto them, "We will build with you: for we seek the Lord your God like as ye do. And we have done sacrifice unto him, since the time that Esarhaddon the king of Assyria brought us up hither."

³ But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the other ancient fathers of Israel answered them, "It belongeth not to you, but to us to build the house unto our God: for we ourselves will build alone unto the LORD our God of Israel, as Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us." ⁴ Then the folk of the land hindered the people of Judah, and made them afraid to build, ⁵ and hired counselors against them and hindered their device, as long as Cyrus the king of Persia lived, until the reign of Darius king of Persia.