Ezra · Chapter 4

Ezra 4:11

¹Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel;²Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.³But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.⁴Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,⁵And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.⁶And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.⁷And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.⁸Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort:⁹Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions; the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites,¹⁰And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnapper brought over, and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest that are on this side the river, and at such a time.¹¹This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king; Thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time.¹²Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations.¹³Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings.¹⁴Now because we have maintenance from the king’s palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king’s dishonour, therefore have we sent and certified the king;¹⁵That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause was this city destroyed.¹⁶We certify the king that, if this city be builded again, and the walls thereof set up, by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side the river.¹⁷Then 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.¹⁸The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.¹⁹And I commanded, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein.²⁰There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them.²¹Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me.²²Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?²³Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.²⁴Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

King James Version (1769)

In contextComing soon
Original language
Compare versionsBSB · ASV
Places

Other translations

Verse	KJV	BSB	ASV
11	This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king; Thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time.	(This is the text of the letter they sent to him.) To King Artaxerxes, From your servants, the men west of the Euphrates:	This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants the men beyond the River, and so forth.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Original language
Places

Where

Beyond the River regionMap About this place

Locations from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Some ancient sites are uncertain.

Original Aramaic words

This passage was written in Aramaic, the common language of the Babylonian and Persian empires, which the Jews of the exile also spoke. It uses the same alphabet as Hebrew.

English	Aramaic	Say it	Strong's	Meaning
this	דְּנָה֙	de-NAH	H1836	this דְּנָה (de.nah) demons pron 1) this, on account of this adv 2) therefore
[is] [the] copy of	פַּרְשֶׁ֣גֶן	par-SHE-gen	H6573	copy פַּרְשֶׁ֫גֶן (par.she.gen) copy Aramaic of pat.she.gen (פַּתְשֶׁ֫גֶן "copy" H6572B)
letter the	אִגַּרְתָּ֔א	'i-gar-TA'	H0104	letter אִגְּרָא (ig.g.ra) letter, missive (Aramaic loan-word used in last OT books) Aramaic of ig.ge.ret (אִגֶּ֫רֶת "letter" H0107)
which	דִּ֚י	di	H1768	that דִּי (di) part of relation 1) who, which, that mark of genitive 2) that of, which belongs to, that conj 3) that, because
they sent	שְׁלַ֣חוּ	she-LA-chu	H7972	to send שְׁלַח (she.lach) 1) to send 1a) (P'al) 1a1) to send, send out 1a2) to be sent
to him	עֲל֔וֹהִי	a-LO-hi	H5922	since עַל (al) 1) upon, over, on account of, above, to, against 1a) upon, over, on account of, regarding, concerning, on behalf of 1b) over (with verbs of ruling) 1c) above, beyond (in comparison) 1d) to, against (of direction)
to	עַל־	'al-	H5922	since עַל (al) 1) upon, over, on account of, above, to, against 1a) upon, over, on account of, regarding, concerning, on behalf of 1b) over (with verbs of ruling) 1c) above, beyond (in comparison) 1d) to, against (of direction)
Artaxerxes	אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֖שְׂתְּא	'ar-tach-SHAS-te'	H0783B	Artaxerxes אַרְתַּחְשַׁשְׂתְּא (ar.tach.shash.ta) A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.4.7 Aramaic of ar.tach.shash.ta (אַרְתַּחְשַׁשְׂתָּא "Artaxerxes" H0783H) § Artaxerxes = "I will make the spoiled to boil: I will stir myself (in) winter" son and successor of Xerxes as emperor of Persia, 465-424 BC
king the	מַלְכָּ֑א	mal-KA'	H4430	king מֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) king Aramaic of me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4428) § 1) king
servant your	עַבְדָ֛ךְ	av-da-yikh	H5649	servant/slave עֲבַד (a.vad) servant, slave Aramaic of e.ved (עֶ֫בֶד "servant/slave" H5650)
[the] man of	אֱנָ֥שׁ	'e-NASH	H0606	man אֱנָשׁ (e.nash) 1) man, human being 2) mankind (collective) Aramaic of e.nosh (אֱנוֹשׁ "human" H0582)
[the] region beyond	עֲבַֽר־	'a-var-	H5675	beyond עֲבַר (a.var) region beyond or across Aramaic of e.ver (עֵ֫בֶר ": side" H5676)
river the	נַהֲרָ֖ה	na-ha-RAH'	H5103G	River נְהַר (ne.har) The River Aramaic of pe.rat (פְּרָת "Euphrates" H6578)
and now	וּכְעֶֽנֶת׃ פ	u-khe-'E-net	H3706	now כְּעֶ֫נֶת (ke.e.net) now, and now Aramaic of ke.an (כְּעַן "now" H3705)

Show all 14 wordsShow fewer

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.