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Ezra 4

KJ3 Literal Translation — Chapter 4 of 10

1 ¶ And when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the sons of the exile built the temple to Jehovah the God of Israel,

2 even they came to Zerubbabel and to the head of the fathers and said to them, Let us build with you, for we seek your God, as you. And we have not sacrificed to Him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.

3 But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of the fathers of Israel said to them, It is not for you and for us to build a house to our God. But we ourselves will together build to Jehovah the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.

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Chapter Summary

1 Adversaries try to hinder the construction. 7 Their letter to Artaxerxes. 17 The decree of Artaxerxes.

Key Hebrew Words

צַר adversary, foe H6862 · TWOT 1973a
בְּנָה build, rebuild H1124 · TWOT 2633
טְעֵם decree, order H2942 · TWOT 2757a
שִׂטְנָה accusation H7855 · TWOT 2252b
מָרָד rebellious H4779 · TWOT 2840b
בְּטֵל cease, stop H989 · TWOT 2625

People & Context

Zerubbabel

Leader of the returned exiles who, with the heads of fathers, refuses the adversaries' offer to help build.

Artaxerxes

King of Persia who receives the accusatory letter and decrees that the rebuilding of Jerusalem be stopped.

Rehum

The master of counsel who authors the hostile letter against Jerusalem and later forces the Jews to stop.

Shimshai

The scribe who, with Rehum, writes the letter to Artaxerxes and hurries to halt the work by force.

Jeshua

Priestly leader who joins Zerubbabel in rejecting the adversaries' offer to build the house of God.

Esar-haddon

King of Assyria named by the adversaries as the one who brought their peoples up into the land.

Timeline

Adversaries Offer to Help and Are Rejected

Adversaries of Judah and Benjamin ask to help build the temple, claiming they seek the same God. Zerubbabel and the leaders reject the offer, stating the exiles will build it alone as Cyrus commanded.

Ezra 4:1-3
Adversaries Oppose the Building

The people of the land actively discourage and terrify the people of Judah, hiring counselors to frustrate their building plans throughout the reign of Cyrus until the reign of Darius.

Ezra 4:4-5
Accusation During the Reign of Ahasuerus

At the beginning of Ahasuerus's reign, the adversaries write a formal accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

Ezra 4:6

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