21. Therefore, issue orders to have these men stop their work. That city must not be rebuilt except at my express command.
22. Be diligent, and don’t neglect this matter, for we must not permit the situation to harm the king’s interests.”
23. When this letter from King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum, Shimshai, and their colleagues, they hurried to Jerusalem. Then, with a show of strength, they forced the Jews to stop building.
24. So the work on the Temple of God in Jerusalem had stopped, and it remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.