¹⁶ We advise the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, you will not have any possession west of the Euphrates.

²¹ Therefore, issue an order for these men to stop, so that this city will not be rebuilt until a further decree has been pronounced by me.^(A)

³ They said to me, ‘The remnant in the province,^(A) who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem’s wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned.’^(B)