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Ezra Chapter
Four
New King James Version (NKJV)
Ezra
4:1 Now when the
adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity
were building the temple of the Lord God of Israel,
YLT And adversaries of Judah and Benjamin hear that the sons of the
captivity are building a temple to Jehovah, God of Israel,
Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin
The Samaritans, as appears from ( Ezra
4:2 Ezra 4:10 ) ,
heard that the children of the captivity;
the Jews, who had been in captivity seventy years, and were just come out of
it, and still were not quite free, but under the jurisdiction and control of
the king of Persia:
builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel;
that they were going about it, and had laid the foundation of it, which might
soon come to their ears, the distance not being very great. Josephus F3
says they heard the sound of the trumpets, and came to know the meaning of it.
FOOTNOTES:
F3 Antiqu. l. 11. c. 4. sect. 3.
Ezra
4:2 they came to
Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let
us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have
sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us
here.”
YLT and they draw nigh unto Zerubbabel, and unto heads of the fathers,
and say to them, `Let us build with you; for, like you, we seek to your God,
and we are not sacrificing since the days of Esar-Haddon king of Asshur, who
brought us up hither.'
Then they came to Zerubbabel, and the chief of the fathers,
These they addressed, as knowing that if they could not prevail with them, they
could never succeed in their design; and these were no doubt the principal of
the Samaritans that applied:
and said unto them, let us build with you;
that is, the temple, they proposed to join with them, and assist them in it;
which proposal at first sight might seem very agreeable and welcome, and would
have been so had they been sincere, but they were not; they hoped, by getting
among them, to have sown discord among them, and disunited them; and so by
these or other means to have retarded the building; or if it went forward, that
they might have a claim to it as theirs, at least as to set up their own idols
in a part of it; the reasons they gave follow:
for we seek your God as ye do;
which was false, for they did not worship him alone, but with idols, nor in the
same manner as the Jews did:
and we do sacrifice unto him;
but even that could not recommend them to the Jews, since they ought not to
sacrifice, even to the Lord himself, but at Jerusalem: there is a various
reading here; the textual reading is, "we do not sacrifice"; that is,
to idols; the marginal reading is, "we sacrifice to him", which we
follow; Aben Ezra takes in both, perhaps most rightly; "we do not
sacrifice to any other, but to him"; which was also false:
since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assur, who brought us up
hither;
to Samaria, from Babylon, and other places; see ( 2 Kings 17:24 ) .
Ezra
4:3 But Zerubbabel
and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel
said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we
alone will build to the Lord
God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”
YLT And Zerubbabel saith to them, also Jeshua, and the rest of the
heads of the fathers of Israel, `Not for you, and for us, to build a house to
our God; but we ourselves together do build to Jehovah God of Israel, as the
king Cyrus, king of Persia, commanded us.'
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.
Ezra
4:4 Then the people
of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in
building,
YLT And it cometh to pass, the people of the land are making the hands
of the people of Judah feeble, and troubling them in building,
Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of
Judah, and troubled them in building.
By threatening them, or by dissuading the workmen from going on, by
endeavouring to hinder their having materials from the Tyrians and Zidonians,
or money out of the king's revenues to bear the expenses as ordered; see ( Ezra
6:4 ) .
Ezra
4:5 and hired
counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king
of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
YLT and are hiring against
them counsellors to make void their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of
Persia, even till the reign of Darius king of Persia.
And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose,
Either to advise and persuade the king of Persia's officers in those parts not
to supply them with money, or to influence the great men at his court to get
the edict revoked: and this they did
all the days of Cyrus king of Persia;
who, though the hearty friend and patron of the Jews, yet being engaged in wars
abroad with the Lydians and Scythians, and leaving his son as viceroy in his
absence, who was no friend unto them, the work went on but slowly, attended
with interruptions and discouragements:
even until the reign of Darius king of Persia;
who was Darius Hystaspis, between whom and Cyrus were Cambyses the son of
Cyrus, and Smerdis the impostor, who pretended to be Smerdis, the brother of
Cambyses; a space of about fifteen years.
Ezra
4:6 In the reign of
Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the
inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
YLT And in the reign of
Ahasuerus, in the commencement of his reign, they have written an accusation
against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem;
And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign,
According to Jarchi, this was Ahasuerus the husband of Esther; but, as most
think F4,
was Cambyses, the son and successor of Cyrus; so Josephus F5;
who was an enemy to the Egyptians; and, fearing the Jews might take part with
them, was no friend to them; their enemies therefore took the advantage of the
death of Cyrus, and the first opportunity after Cambyses reigned in his own
right:
and wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of
Judah and Jerusalem;
full of hatred and enmity, spite and malice, charging them as a turbulent,
disobedient, and rebellious people.
FOOTNOTES:
F4 Spanhem. Introduct. Chron. ad Hist. Eccl. p. 54. &
Universal History, Vol. 5. p. 203. Prideaux, p. 175.
F5 Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 11. c. 4.) sect. 4, 6. Vid. R. David
Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 2. fol. 8. 2. So Dr. Lightfoot, Works, vol. 1. p.
139.
Ezra
4:7 In the days of
Artaxerxes also, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabel, and the rest of their companions
wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the letter was written in
Aramaic script, and translated into the Aramaic language.
YLT and in the days of
Artaxerxes have Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions
written unto Artaxerxes king of Persia, and the writing of the letter is
written in Aramaean, and interpreted in Aramaean.
And in the days of Artaxerxes
The same with Ahasuerus, in the preceding verse; and who also is Cambyses,
which is his name in Heathen authors, Artaxerxes being a common name to the
kings of Persia; though some F6
think this was Smerdis, the magician and impostor, who was between Cambyses and
Darius; but as he reigned but seven months, it is not very likely that he
should be wrote unto, and an answer received from him; besides he sent to every
nation he ruled over F7,
and so to the Jews, and proclaimed to them freedom from tribute and the militia
for three years, to ingratiate himself to them:
wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their
companions;
or his company; for Jarchi thinks only one person is meant; that Mithredath
Tabeel is the name of one of the adversaries of Judah; and that Bishlam is an
appellative, and signifies that he wrote in peace, or in a way of salutation
and greeting; but they seem to be the names of governors in the cities of
Samaria under the king of Persia: these wrote
to Artaxerxes king of Persia;
instigated by the Samaritans:
and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue,
and interpreted in the Syrian tongue;
or Chaldee, of which Ezra gives a copy in the Chaldee language; the meaning
either is, that it was written both in Syriac letters, and in the Syriac
language; for sometimes words are written in one language and in the character
of another, as the Syriac is sometimes written in, Hebrew characters, and the
Hebrew in Roman; or else there was a postscript added to this letter,
explaining some things in it, which also was written in the same language: some
take F8
the word "nishtevan", rendered "written", to be the name of
a province on the borders of the country beyond Euphrates, whose figure and
characters were in high esteem, and fit to write in to kings; but the words and
language were Syrian, and needed interpretation.
FOOTNOTES:
F6 Prideaux's Connect. par. 1. p. 175. Authors of the Universal
History, vol. 5. p. 199, 203. So Vitringa, Hypotypos. Hist. Sacr. p. 108.
F7 Herodot. Thalia, sive, l. 3. c. 67. Justin. l. 1. c. 9.
F8 Praefat. Arugas Habbosem apud Buxtorf. de liter. Heb. add.
Ezra
4:8 Rehum[a] the
commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King
Artaxerxes in this fashion:
YLT Rehum counsellor, and Shimshai scribe have written a letter concerning
Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king, thus:
Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, wrote a letter
against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort.
This means the same letter as before; which, according to Jarchi, was sent in
the name of Mithredath Tabeel and his company, was endited by Rehum, master of
words or sense, and written by Shimshai the scribe, whom he makes to be a son
of Haman F9;
but it was written rather in all their names.
FOOTNOTES:
F9 So Midrash Esther, fol. 85. 3.
Ezra
4:9 From[b] Rehum the
commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions—representatives
of the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the people of Persia and
Erech and Babylon and Shushan,[c] the
Dehavites, the Elamites,
YLT Then Rehum counsellor, and Shimshai scribe, and the rest of their
companions, Dinaites, and Apharsathchites, Tarpelites, Apharsites, Archevites,
Babylonians, Susanchites, (who are Elamites),
Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the
rest of their companions
who all signed the letter; namely, the governors of the following nations;
the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites,
the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the
Elamites;
which were colonies from several parts of Chaldea, Media, and Persia, and were
settled in the several cities of Samaria, as several of their names plainly
show, as from Persia, Erech, Babylon, Shushan, and Elimais; some account for
them all, but with uncertainty; according to R. Jose F11
these were the Samaritans who first were sent out of five nations, to whom the
king of Assyria added four more, which together make the nine here mentioned,
see ( 2 Kings 17:24 ) .
FOOTNOTES:
F11 Pirke Eliezer, c. 38.
Ezra
4:10 and the rest of
the nations whom the great and noble Osnapper took captive and settled in the
cities of Samaria and the remainder beyond the River[d] —and so
forth.[e]
YLT and the rest of the nations that the great and honourable Asnapper
removed and set in the city of Samaria, and the rest beyond the river, and at
such a time:
And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnappar
brought over
The river Euphrates:
and set in the cities of Samaria;
placed there in the room of the Israelites carried captive; this Asnappar was,
according to Jarchi and others F12
Sennacherib; but, with Grotius, Shalmaneser; rather he was Esarhaddon, the son
of the former, and grandson of the latter; so Dr. Prideaux F13;
though he might be only some commander of the Assyrian monarch, who carried
them over by his orders:
and the rest that are on this side the river;
the river Euphrates:
and at such a time;
which may respect the date of the letter, which, no doubt, was expressed,
though not here given; or this, as some think, was the same with our &c. something
following, unto King Artaxerxes greeting, or something like that; though David
de Pomis F14
takes it to be the general name of the people beyond the river.
FOOTNOTES:
F12 Kimchi Sepher Shorash. fol. 166. 2. & Vajikra Rabba in ib. T. Bab.
Sanhedrin, fol. 94. 1.
F13 Connexion vol. 1. p. 30.
F14 Tzemach David, fol. 63. 3.
Ezra
4:11 (This is
a copy of the letter that they sent him) To King Artaxerxes from your servants,
the men of the region beyond the River, and so forth:[f]
YLT This [is] a copy of a letter that they have sent unto him, unto
Artaxerxes the king: `Thy servants, men beyond the river, and at such a time;
This is the copy of the letter they sent unto him, even unto
Artaxerxes the king
Which Ezra brought with him from Babylon, and is contained in the five following
verses:
thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time;
this was the inscription of the letter, or the beginning of it.
Ezra
4:12 Let it be known
to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem,
and are building the rebellious and evil city, and are finishing its
walls and repairing the foundations.
YLT Be it known to the king, that the Jews who have come up from thee
unto us, have come in to Jerusalem, the rebellious and base city they are
building, and the walls they have finished, and the foundations they join.
Be it known unto the king
The intent of this letter was, that it might be known to the king what follows:
that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto
Jerusalem;
this they observe partly out of contempt of the Jews, having been lately
captive in Babylon, and partly to insinuate what ingratitude they were guilty
of; that having got their liberty, and come to Jerusalem, they made use of it
to the king's detriment:
building the rebellious and the bad city;
as they suggest it had been to kings, even his predecessors, in former times, (
Ezra 4:15 )
and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations;
which was a falsehood; for the most they had done was setting up the walls of
their houses in Jerusalem, and laying the foundation of the temple; as for the
walls of the city, they had not as yet done anything unto them.
Ezra
4:13 Let it now be
known to the king that, if this city is built and the walls completed, they
will not pay tax, tribute, or custom, and the king’s treasury will be
diminished.
YLT `Now, be it known to the king, that if this city be builded, and
the walls finished, toll, tribute, and custom they do not give; and at length
[to] the kings it doth cause loss.
Be it known now unto the king
And let it be seriously and thoroughly considered by him and his counsellors:
that if this city be builded, and its walls set up again, then
will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom;
being able to defend themselves against the king's forces, sent to reduce them
to their obedience; these three words take in all sorts of taxes and levies on
persons, goods, and merchandise:
and so thou shall endamage the revenue of the kings;
not only his own, but his successors'; this they thought would be a very striking and
powerful argument with him.
Ezra
4:14 Now because we
receive support from the palace, it was not proper for us to see the king’s
dishonor; therefore we have sent and informed the king,
YLT Now, because that the salt of the palace [is] our salt, and the
nakedness of the king we have no patience to see, therefore we have sent and
made known to the king;
Now because we have maintenance from the king's palace
Have posts under the king, to which salaries were annexed, by which they were
supported, and which they had from the king's exchequer; or "salt" F15,
as in the original, some places of honour and trust formerly being paid in
salt; hence, as Pliny F16
observes, such honours and rewards were called "salaries":
and it was not meet for us to see the king's dishonour;
to see any thing done injurious to his crown and dignity, to his honour and
revenues, when we are supported by him; this would be ungrateful as well as
unjust:
therefore have we sent and certified the king;
of the truth of what is before related; and, for the further confirmation of
it, refer him to the ancient records of the kingdom, as follows.
FOOTNOTES:
F15 (xlm) "salem vel
sale", Montanus, Vatablus, Michaelis.
F16 Nat. Hist. l. 31. c. 7.
Ezra
4:15 that search may
be made in the book of the records of your fathers. And you will find in the
book of the records and know that this city is a rebellious city,
harmful to kings and provinces, and that they have incited sedition within the
city in former times, for which cause this city was destroyed.
YLT so that he doth seek in the book of the records of thy fathers,
and thou dost find in the book of the records, and dost know, that this city
[is] a rebellious city, and causing loss [to] kings and provinces, and makers
of sedition [are] in its midst from the days of old, therefore hath this city
been wasted.
That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers
That is, his predecessors in the Babylonian monarchy; though, as the Medes and
Persians were included in that, and joined the Babylonians in their wars with
others, and particularly with the Jews, the records of the Medes and Persians
might also be applied to:
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;
against the king of Babylon, particularly in the times of Jehoiakim and
Zedekiah:
for which cause was this city destroyed;
as it was by Nebuchadnezzar; see ( 2 Kings 24:1 2 Kings 24:20 ) ( 2 Kings 25:1 2 Kings 25:9 ) .
Ezra
4:16 We inform the
king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, the result will
be that you will have no dominion beyond the River.
YLT We are making known to the king that, if this city be builded and
the walls finished, by this means a portion beyond the river thou hast none.'
We certify the king, that if this city be builded again, and the
walls thereof set up
As it formerly was, and now attempted, as they suggest:
by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side the river;
the river Euphrates; intimating that the Jews would not only shake off his
yoke, and refuse to pay tribute themselves, but would seize on all his dominions
on that side the river, and annex them to their own.
Ezra
4:17 The king sent
an answer: To Rehum the commander, to Shimshai the scribe, to the
rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria, and to the remainder
beyond the River: Peace, and so forth.[g]
YLT An answer hath the king sent unto Rehum counsellor, and Shimshai
scribe, and the rest of their companions who are dwelling in Samaria, and the
rest beyond the river, `Peace, and at such a time:
Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to
Shimshai the scribe
This affair, upon examination, being found to be of importance, the king of
Persia thought fit to send an answer to the above letter, which was doing them
an honour, and gave them the power and authority they wished to have:
and to the rest of their companions that dwelt in Samaria;
in the kingdom, province, and cities of Samaria:
and unto the rest beyond the river;
the river Euphrates, the rest of the nations before mentioned, ( Ezra
4:9 Ezra 4:10 ) .
Peace, and at such a time:
that is, all health and prosperity
Ezra
4:18 The letter
which you sent to us has been clearly read before me.
YLT The letter that ye sent unto us, explained, hath been read before
me,
The letter which ye sent unto us
The plural number is used, being now become courtly for kings thus to speak of
themselves:
hath been plainly before me;
by such that understood both the Syrian and Persian languages; the letter was
written in the Syrian language, and the king being a Persian, it was necessary
it should be interpreted and explained to him.
Ezra
4:19 And I gave the
command, and a search has been made, and it was found that this city in former
times has revolted against kings, and rebellion and sedition have been fostered
in it.
YLT and by me a decree hath been made, and they sought, and have found
that this city from the days of old against kings is lifting up itself, and
rebellion and sedition is made in it,
And I commanded, and search hath been made
In the records of his predecessors, whether Chaldeans or Persians:
and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection
against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein:
and yet this could not be carried higher than to the times of Zedekiah and
Jehoiakim, as before observed, which was not one hundred years ago, unless the
rebellion of Hezekiah against the king of Assyria could be thought to be in
these records, ( 2 Kings 18:7 ) , and yet from hence it is
concluded as if in ages past they had been guilty of rebellion and sedition,
and even always.
Ezra
4:20 There have also
been mighty kings over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all the region
beyond the River; and tax, tribute, and custom were paid to them.
YLT and mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, even rulers over all
beyond the river, and toll, tribute, and custom is given to them.
There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled
over all countries beyond the river
As David and Solomon; and the account of these they had in their records, see (
2 Samuel 8:1 ) ( 1 Kings 4:21 1 Kings 4:24 )
and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them;
as appears from the places referred to; and this served to strengthen the
insinuation made to the king, that if these people were suffered to go on
building, he would lose his tribute and taxes in those parts.
Ezra
4:21 Now give the
command to make these men cease, that this city may not be built until the
command is given by me.
YLT `Now, make ye a decree to cause these men to cease, and this city
is not builded, till by me a decree is made.
Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease
From building:
and that this city be not builded until another commandment shall
be given from me;
he might suspect that this case, in all its circumstances, was not truly
stated, and that hereafter he might see reason to recede from the present
orders he gave; and the rather, as by searching, and perhaps on his own
knowledge, must have observed, that his father Cyrus had shown favour to the
Jews, and had not only set them at liberty, but had encouraged them to rebuild
their temple; which might be what they were about, and was the case, and
nothing else, except their houses to dwell in.
Ezra
4:22 Take heed now
that you do not fail to do this. Why should damage increase to the hurt of the
kings?
YLT And beware ye of negligence in doing this; why doth the hurt
become great to the loss of the kings?'
Take heed now that ye fail not to do this
To put his orders into execution, and at once, without any loss of time, oblige
the Jews to desist from rebuilding the walls of their city, which he was told
they were doing, though a great falsehood:
why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?
of him and his successors, to be deprived of their toll, tribute, and customs,
and to have insurrections, mutinies, and rebellions, in the dominions belonging
to them.
Ezra
4:23 Now when the
copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, Shimshai the
scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem against the
Jews, and by force of arms made them cease.
YLT Then from the time that a copy of the letter of king Artaxerxes is
read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they have
gone in haste to Jerusalem, unto the Jews, and caused them to cease by force
and strength;
Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes letter was read before Rehum,
and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions
By him or them to whom it was particularly directed:
they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews;
not only in obedience to the king's command, but from an eagerness of spirit to
put a stop to the proceedings of the Jews, to whom they had an aversion,
instigated by the Samaritans:
and made them to cease by force and power;
from going on with the building of the temple, which they reckoned a part of
the city, and within their commission; this they did by showing the power and
authority they had under the king's hand, and by the forces they brought with
them to compel them to it, should they refuse to obey; or, however, they
threatened them highly what they would do, if they did not desist.
Ezra
4:24 Thus the work
of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was
discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
YLT then ceased the service of the house of God that [is] in
Jerusalem, and it ceased till the second year of the reign of Darius king of
Persia.
Then ceased the work of the house of God, which is at Jerusalem
How far they had proceeded is not said, whether any further than laying the
foundation of it; though probably, by this time, it might be carried to some
little height; however, upon this it was discontinued:
so it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of
Persia;
not Darius Nothun, as some think, for from the first of Cyrus to the sixth of
his reign, when the temple was finished, was upwards of one hundred years; yea,
according to some, about one hundred and forty; which would carry the age of
Zerubbabel, who both laid the foundation of the temple, and finished it, and the
age of those who saw the first temple, to a length that is not probable; but
this was Darius Hystaspis, who succeeded Cambyses the son of Cyrus, there being
only, between, the short usurpation of Smerdis for seven months.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
NKJV Footnotes:
a.
Ezra 4:8 The
original language of Ezra 4:8 through 6:18 is Aramaic.
b.
Ezra 4:9 Literally Then
c.Ezra 4:9 Or Susa
d.
Ezra 4:10 That is,
the Euphrates
e.
Ezra 4:10
Literally and now
f.
Ezra 4:11
Literally and now
g.
Ezra 4:17
Literally and now