But Zerubbabel, and Joshua, and the rest of the chief of the
fathers, said unto them
The prince and high priest, and chief of the people:
you have nothing to do with us to build an house to our God;
being neither of the same nation, nor of the same religion:
but we ourselves together will build to the Lord God of Israel;
we and we only, who are together as one man, united in one body of people, and in the same religious sentiments, being Israelites; we separately, without admitting strangers among us, will build a temple to the God of Israel:
as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, hath commanded us;
thereby letting them know that they acted by his authority, and the commission they had from him only concerned themselves, and not others.