Ezra 4:3

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.