Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and unto the rest beyond the river, Peace, and at such a time.
Then sent the king an answer. It was unfavourable to the rebuilding of Jerusalem as a fortified city. This hostile decree is given here proleptically, and it clearly shows that the first permission of the Persian kings was limited to the restoration of the temple.