Ezra 4:15

Book of the records. The great nations of antiquity, such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians, kept political, economic, and historical records. Many such archives have come to light in recent years. Since the city of Babylon was not destroyed when it fell to Cyrus, the archives of Nebuchadnezzar probably fell into the hands of the Persians intact, and could thus be consulted by later Persian kings. Such a search, now proposed, would prove the correctness of the accusation made.

For which cause. Here was an undeniable fact on which the Samaritans relied. It was a historical fact, easily proved, that Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem only after repeated rebellions. This line of argument, however, was no proof that the Jews would revolt against their Persian overlords, who had shown themselves true friends of the Jews and treated them so generously.