13 To Your Majesty, King Artaxerxes, your servants Rehum the reporter and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their council, and the judges in Coele-Syria and Phoenicia:
14 Our master the king, may you know that the Judeans who came up to us have come to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and evil city, restoring its marketplaces and walls, and laying the foundations for a temple.
15 If this city is rebuilt and the walls are completed, not only will they refuse to pay foreign taxes, but they will also be able to resist kings.
16 Since the work on the temple is in progress, we didn’t think we should overlook such an act but should call it to the attention of our master the king so that if it concerns you, a search may be made in the records of your ancestors.
17 You will discover in the records what has been written about them. You will learn that this city was rebellious, annoying to both kings and other cities. The Judeans were rebels and would regularly set up huge barriers around the city. That is why this city was destroyed.
18 So we now advise you, Master and King, that if this city is rebuilt and if its walls are erected, you will no longer have secure lines of access to Coele-Syria and Phoenicia.
19 The king wrote back to the recorder Rehum, Beltethmus, the scribe Shimshai, and their associates living in Samaria, Syria, and Phoenicia, as follows: