Ezra 4

Ezra · Chapter 4

Ezra 4:17

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)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
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.Then the king sent this reply: To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of your associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in the region west of the Euphrates: Greetings.Then 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 in the rest of the country beyond the River: Peace, 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.

Where

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.

EnglishAramaicSay itStrong'sMeaning
word theפִּתְגָמָ֞אpit-ga-MA'H6600
edict

פִּתְגָם (pit.gam) 1) command, work, affair, decree 1a) word, report 1b) decree

he sentשְׁלַ֣חshe-LACHH7972
to send

שְׁלַח (she.lach) 1) to send 1a) (P'al) 1a1) to send, send out 1a2) to be sent

king theמַלְכָּ֗אmal-KA'H4430
king

מֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) king Aramaic of me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4428) § 1) king

toעַל־'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)

Rehumרְח֤וּםre-CHUMH7348B
Rehum

רְחוּם (re.chum) A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.4.8 § Rehum = "compassion" a commander who wrote a letter to the king Artaxerxes in which he opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem

lord ofבְּעֵל־be-'el-H1169
commander

בְּעֵל (be.el) owner, lord Aramaic of ba.al (בַּעַל ": master" H1167)

commandטְעֵם֙te-'EMH2942
command

טְעֵם (te.em) 1) report, taste 1a) taste 1b) report

and Shimshaiוְשִׁמְשַׁ֣יve-shim-SHAIH8124
Shimshai

שִׁמְשַׁי (shim.shay) A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.4.8 § Shimshai = "sunny" the scribe for Rehum, the satrap of Judea for the Persian government

scribe theסָֽפְרָ֔אsa-fe-RA'H5613
scribe

סָפִר (sa.pher) scribe, secretary Aramaic of so.pher (סֹפֵר "secretary" H5608B)

and [the] rest ofוּשְׁאָר֙u-she-'ARH7606
remainder

שְׁאָר (she.ar) rest, remainder Aramaic of she.ar (שְׁאָר "remnant" H7605)

associates theirכְּנָוָ֣תְה֔וֹןke-na-VA-te-HONH3675
associate

כְּנָת (ke.nat) companion, associate Aramaic of ke.nat (כְּנָת "associate" H3674)

whoדִּ֥יdiH1768
that

דִּי (di) part of relation 1) who, which, that mark of genitive 2) that of, which belongs to, that conj 3) that, because

[were] dwellingיָתְבִ֖יןya-te-VINH3488
to dwell

יְתִב (ye.tiv) 1) to sit, dwell 1a) (P'al) to sit, be seated 1b) (Aphel) to cause to dwell

in Samariaבְּשָֽׁמְרָ֑יִןbe-sha-me-RA-yinH8115
Samaria

שׇֽׁמְרָ֑יִן (shom.ra.yin) Aramaic of sho.me.ron (שֹׁמְרוֹן "Samaria" H8111) § Samaria = "watch mountain" 1) the region of northern Palestine associated with the northern kingdom of the 10 tribes of Israelwhich split from the kingdom after the death of Solomon during the reign of his son Rehoboam and were ruled by Jeroboam 2) the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel located 30 miles (50 km) north of Jerusalem and 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Shechem

and [the] rest ofוּשְׁאָ֧רu-she-'ARH7606
remainder

שְׁאָר (she.ar) rest, remainder Aramaic of she.ar (שְׁאָר "remnant" H7605)

[the] region beyondעֲבַֽר־'a-var-H5675
beyond

עֲבַר (a.var) region beyond or across Aramaic of e.ver (עֵ֫בֶר ": side" H5676)

river theנַהֲרָ֛הna-ha-RAH'H5103G
River

נְהַר (ne.har) The River Aramaic of pe.rat (פְּרָת "Euphrates" H6578)

peaceשְׁלָ֖םshe-LAMH8001
peace

שְׁלָם (she.lam) welfare, prosperity, peace, well-being Aramaic of sha.lom (שָׁלוֹם ": peace" H7965)

and nowוּכְעֶֽת׃ סu-khe-'ETH3706
now

כְּעֶ֫נֶת (ke.e.net) now, and now Aramaic of ke.an (כְּעַן "now" H3705)

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