Ezra 4:11-13

International Standard Version

To: King Artaxerxes

From: Your servants, the men of the province beyond the Euphrates^[a] River.

¹² May the king be advised that the Jews who came from you to us have reached Jerusalem and are rebuilding a rebellious and wicked city, having completed its walls and repaired its foundations.

¹³ May the king be further advised that if this city is rebuilt and its walls erected, its citizens^[b] will refuse to pay tributes, taxes, and tariffs, thereby restricting royal revenues.