Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made some iron horns. He said to Ahab, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You will use these horns to fight the Arameans until they are destroyed.’ ”
When Artaxerxes became king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and those with them wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. It was written in the Aramaic language and translated.
At that time Tattenai, the governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai, and their fellow workers went to the Jewish people and asked, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this Temple and fix these walls?”
The man dressed in linen, who stood over the water, raised his hands toward heaven. And I heard him swear by the name of God who lives forever, “It will be for three and one-half years. The power of the holy people will finally be broken, and then all these things will come true.”
With the enemy’s own spear you stabbed the leader of his army. His soldiers rushed out like a storm to scatter us. They were happy as they were robbing the poor people in secret.
I asked, “What are they coming to do?” He answered, “They have come to scare and throw down the horns. These horns scattered the people of Judah so that no one could even lift up his head. These horns stand for the nations that attacked the people of Judah and scattered them.”
This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “When your ancestors made me angry, I planned to punish you. I did not change my mind,” says the Lord All-Powerful.