Ezra 4:17-22

King Artaxerxes sent this answer: To Rehum the governor and Shimshai the secretary, to all their fellow workers living in Samaria, and to those in other places in Trans-Euphrates. Greetings. The letter you sent to us has been translated and read to me. I ordered the records to be searched, and it was done. We found that Jerusalem has a history of disobedience to kings and has been a place of problems and trouble. Jerusalem has had powerful kings who have ruled over the whole area of Trans-Euphrates, and taxes of all kinds have been paid to them. Now, give an order for those men to stop work. The city of Jerusalem will not be rebuilt until I say so. Make sure you do this, because if they continue, it will hurt the government.