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Ezra 4:11

in Ezra 4

(This is the text of the letter they sent to him.) To King Artaxerxes, From your servants, the men west of the Euphrates:

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants the men beyond the River, and so forth.

KJV

This 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.

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This verse in Ezra 4

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

And at such a time - The word וכענת ucheeneth has greatly perplexed all commentators and critics. The versions give us no light; and the Vulgate translates it et dicunt salutem, “and they wish prosperity.” Some translate it and so forth; and our translators supposed that it referred to the date, which however is not specified, and might have been as easily entered as the words and at such a time.

This site's exposition

This is the copy of

on Ezra 4:11-13

The text now quotes the letter itself, opening with the formula that marks official correspondence through this section, Thy servants the men on this side the river. The charge is specific: the Jews are building the rebellious and the bad city, setting up its walls and joining its foundations, and if the work continues Jerusalem will stop paying toll, tribute and custom. The accusers argue from the crown's revenue, framing a rebuilt wall as a threat to Persian income.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah · Written before 735.

proposed

This is a copy of the letter, etc. Artaxerxes, who is persuaded, and who, being persuaded, commanded that Jerusalem should not be built, holds the figure either of some pagan ruler, certainly an enemy and persecutor of the Church, or of the ancient enemy of …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

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.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

This is the meaning of the letter and this is the interpretation of the letter.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Ezra 4:11:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And the rest of the nations and the rest of the nations that Sennacherib exiled; they have all concurred.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Ezra 4:10:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
Let it be known to the king Let it be a known thing to the king.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Ezra 4:12:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

14 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • דְּנָה֙this

    denahH1836 →58 times

  • פַּרְשֶׁ֣גֶן[is] [the] copy of

    parshegenH6573 →3 times

  • אִגַּרְתָּ֔אletter the

    ʾigarta'H104 →3 times

  • דִּ֚יwhich

    diH1768 →345 times

  • שְׁלַ֣חוּthey sent

    shelachuH7972 →14 times

  • עֲל֔וֹהִיto him

    alohiH5922 →104 times

  • עַל־to

    ʾal-H5922 →104 times

  • אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֖שְׂתְּאArtaxerxes

    ʾartachshaste'H783 →15 times

  • מַלְכָּ֑אking the

    malka'H4430 →180 times

  • עַבְדָ֛ךְservant your

    avdayikhH5649 →

  • אֱנָ֥שׁ[the] man of

    ʾenashH606 →

  • עֲבַֽר־[the] region beyond

    ʾavar-H5675 →14 times

  • נַהֲרָ֖הriver the

    naharah'H5103 →15 times

  • וּכְעֶֽנֶת׃ פand now

    ukheenetH3706 →4 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

4 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Ezra 4:10and the rest of the peoples whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and elsewhere west of the Euphrates.4 works1 Kings 21:8Then Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city.2 worksEzra 5:6This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius.2 worksEzra 7:11This is the text of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest and scribe, an expert in the commandments and statutes of the LORD to Israel:2 works

About Ezra

Ezra Kneels in Prayer, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezra Kneels in Prayer, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezra: the study guide →Read Ezra 4 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and W. F. Adeney, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther (Expositor's Bible).

Read on in Ezra 4 →