and the rest of the peoples whom the great and illustrious Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and the region west of the River Euphrates.
The king sent a reply to his chief officer Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues living in Samaria and elsewhere in the region west of the River Euphrates: Greetings.
Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those to whom you owe taxes, tolls to those to whom you owe tolls, respect to those to whom you owe respect, and honour to those to whom you owe honour.
before his colleagues and the powerful men of Samaria and said, ‘What are these pathetic Jews doing? Can they restore it by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they ever finish it? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble? ’
So now, our God #– #the great, mighty, and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant – do not view lightly all the hardships that have afflicted us, our kings and leaders, our priests and prophets, our ancestors and all your people, from the days of the Assyrian kings until today.