Ezra 4:4

Then the local people ¹  began to discourage ²  the people of Judah and to dishearten them from building.

biblegateway Ezr 4:4

Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.

biblegateway Ezr 4:4

Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building,

biblegateway Ezr 4:4

Then the local residents tried to discourage and frighten the people of Judah to keep them from their work.

biblegateway Ezr 4:4

So these people started beating down the morale of the people of Judah, harassing them as they built.

SABDAweb Ezr 4:4

Then the people of the land made the hands of the people of Judah feeble, troubling them with fear in their building;

bibleoremus Ezr 4:4

Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and made them afraid to build,

biblegateway Ezr 4:4

Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building,

biblegateway Ezr 4:4

Then the local people ¹  began to discourage ²  the people of Judah and to dishearten them from building.

¹ tn Heb “the people of the land.” Elsewhere this expression sometimes has a negative connotation, referring to a lay population that was less zealous for Judaism than it should have been. Here, however, it seems to refer to the resident population of the area without any negative connotation.

² tn Heb “were making slack the hands of.”