Great(i)
4 And it came to passe, that the folke of the land hyndered the people of Iuda, and troubled them as they were buyldynge,
5 and hyred councelers against them, to hynder their deuyce, as longe as Cyrus the kyng of Persia lyued, vntyll the raygne of Darius king of Persia.
6 And in the raygne of Ahasuerus, (euen in the begynnyng of his raygne) wrote they vnto him a complaynte agaynst the inhabitours of Iuda and Ierusalem.
7 And in the dayes of Arthaxerses, wrote Mithridath Tabeel and the other of hys councell, vnto Arthaxerses the king of Persia with fayre wordes. And the scripture of the letter was writen in the Sirians speach, and interpretated in the language of the Sirians
8 Rehum the recorder and Samsai the scribe wrote a letter from Ierusalem to Arthaxerses the kyng, as it foloweth.
9 Then Rehum the recorder, & Samsai the scribe, and other of their companye of Dina, of Arphasath, of Tarpla, of Persia, of Arach, of Babylon, of Susan, of Deha, of Elan,
10 & other of the people who the greate & noble Asnapar brought ouer, and sett in the cytes of Samaria, & other, that are now on this syde the water.
11 Thys is the copye of the letter that they sent vnto kyng Artaxerses. Thy seruauntes, & the men that are now on thys syde the water.
12 Be it knowne vnto the king, that the Iewes which came vp from the to vs, are come vnto Ierusalem (a cytie sedicyous and frowarde) and buylde the same, and sett vp the walles therof, and laye the foundacions.
13 Be it knowne now also vnto the kynge, that yf this cytie be buylded, and the walles therof made vp agayne, then shall not they geue, tolle, tribute, and custome, and the kynges profyte shall incurre dammage.
14 And now in the meane season we haue destroyed the temple, and wolde no longer se the kynges dishonoure: Therfore sent we out also, and certifyed the kynge:
15 that it maye be sought in the boke of the Chronycles of thy progenitours, and so shalt thou fynde in the booke of the Chronycles, and perceaue that this cytie is sedicious and noysome vnto kynges and landes, and that they cause other also among them to rebell of olde, & for the same cause was thys cytie destroyed.
16 Therfore do we certyfye the kynge that yf this cyte be buylded agayne, and the walles therof made vp, thou shalt herafter haue no porcion on this fyde the water.