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Text -- Ezra 4:1-24 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
Opposition to the Building Efforts
4:1 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin learned that the former exiles were building a temple for the Lord God of Israel ,
4:2 they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders and said to them , “Let us help you build , for like you we seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him from the time of King Esarhaddon of Assyria , who brought us here .”
4:3 But Zerubbabel , Jeshua , and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them, “You have no right to help us build the temple of our God . We will build it by ourselves for the Lord God of Israel , just as King Cyrus , the king of Persia , has commanded us.”
4:4 Then the local people began to discourage the people of Judah and to dishearten them from building .
4:5 They were hiring advisers to oppose them, so as to frustrate their plans , throughout the time of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius of Persia .
Official Complaints Are Lodged Against the Jews
4:6 At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus they filed an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem .
4:7 And during the reign of Artaxerxes , Bishlam , Mithredath , Tabeel , and the rest of their colleagues wrote to King Artaxerxes of Persia . This letter was first written in Aramaic but then translated . Aramaic :
4:8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter concerning Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows :
4:9 From Rehum the commander , Shimshai the scribe , and the rest of their colleagues – the judges , the rulers , the officials , the secretaries , the Erechites , the Babylonians , the people of Susa (that is, the Elamites ),
4:10 and the rest of nations whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and other places in Trans-Euphrates .
4:11 (This is a copy of the letter they sent to him:) “To King Artaxerxes , from your servants in Trans-Euphrates :
4:12 Now let the king be aware that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem . They are rebuilding that rebellious and odious city . They are completing its walls and repairing its foundations .
4:13 Let the king also be aware that if this city is built and its walls are completed , no more tax , custom , or toll will be paid , and the royal treasury will suffer loss .
4:14 In light of the fact that we are loyal to the king , and since it does not seem appropriate to us that the king should sustain damage , we are sending the king this information
4:15 so that he may initiate a search of the records of his predecessors and discover in those records that this city is rebellious and injurious to both kings and provinces , producing internal revolts from long ago . It is for this very reason that this city was destroyed .
4:16 We therefore are informing the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed , you will not retain control of this portion of Trans-Euphrates .”
4:17 The king sent the following response : “To Rehum the commander , Shimshai the scribe , and the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and other parts of Trans-Euphrates : Greetings !
4:18 The letter you sent to us has been translated and read in my presence .
4:19 So I gave orders , and it was determined that this city from long ago has been engaging in insurrection against kings . It has continually engaged in rebellion and revolt .
4:20 Powerful kings have been over Jerusalem who ruled throughout the entire Trans-Euphrates and who were the beneficiaries of tribute , custom , and toll .
4:21 Now give orders that these men cease their work and that this city not be rebuilt until such time as I so instruct .
4:22 Exercise appropriate caution so that there is no negligence in this matter. Why should danger increase to the point that kings sustain damage ?”
4:23 Then , as soon as the copy of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read in the presence of Rehum , Shimshai the scribe , and their colleagues , they proceeded promptly to the Jews in Jerusalem and stopped them with threat of armed force .
4:24 So the work on the temple of God in Jerusalem came to a halt . It remained halted until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia .
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Rehum |
Zerubbabel |
Persia |
Zechariah |
Temple |
Persecution |
Malice |
Lies and Deceits |
Israel |
Artaxerxes |
Bishlam |
ESDRAS, THE FIRST BOOK OF |
TAX; TAXING |
Shimshai |
EPISTLE |
Chaldee language |
Accusation, False |
Chancellor |
EZRA-NEHEMIAH |
SAMARITANS |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Ezr 4:1; Ezr 4:2; Ezr 4:2; Ezr 4:2; Ezr 4:2; Ezr 4:2; Ezr 4:2; Ezr 4:3; Ezr 4:4; Ezr 4:4; Ezr 4:5; Ezr 4:5; Ezr 4:5; Ezr 4:6; Ezr 4:6; Ezr 4:6; Ezr 4:7; Ezr 4:7; Ezr 4:7; Ezr 4:7; Ezr 4:7; Ezr 4:7; Ezr 4:8; Ezr 4:8; Ezr 4:8; Ezr 4:9; Ezr 4:9; Ezr 4:10; Ezr 4:10; Ezr 4:10; Ezr 4:10; Ezr 4:11; Ezr 4:11; Ezr 4:12; Ezr 4:12; Ezr 4:13; Ezr 4:14; Ezr 4:14; Ezr 4:14; Ezr 4:15; Ezr 4:15; Ezr 4:15; Ezr 4:15; Ezr 4:15; Ezr 4:15; Ezr 4:16; Ezr 4:17; Ezr 4:19; Ezr 4:19; Ezr 4:19; Ezr 4:20; Ezr 4:20; Ezr 4:21; Ezr 4:23; Ezr 4:23; Ezr 4:24
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NET Notes: Ezr 4:2 The Assyrian policy had been to resettle Samaria with peoples from other areas (cf. 2 Kgs 17:24-34). These immigrants acknowledged Yahweh as well as o...
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NET Notes: Ezr 4:5 The purpose of the opening verses of this chapter is to summarize why the Jews returning from the exile were unable to complete the rebuilding of the ...
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NET Notes: Ezr 4:6 For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
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NET Notes: Ezr 4:7 The double reference in v. 7 to the Aramaic language is difficult. It would not make sense to say that the letter was written in Aramaic and then tran...
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NET Notes: Ezr 4:9 For the qere of the MT (דֶּהָיֵא, dehaye’, a proper name) it seems better to retain the Kethib &...
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NET Notes: Ezr 4:10 Aram “beyond the river.” In Ezra this term is a technical designation for the region west of the Euphrates river.
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NET Notes: Ezr 4:12 Management of the provinces that were distantly removed from the capital was difficult, and insurrection in such places was a perennial problem. The l...
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NET Notes: Ezr 4:13 Aram “the treasury of kings.” The plural “kings” is Hebrew, not Aramaic. If the plural is intended in a numerical sense the re...
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