Ezra 4:15
in Ezra 4that a search should be made of the record books of your fathers. In these books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, inciting sedition from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: 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; for which cause was this city laid waste.
KJV
That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: 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: for which cause was this city destroyed.
⋯
This verse in Ezra 4
Commentary
3 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The book of the records - Compare Est 2:23; Est 6:1; Est 10:2. The existence of such a “book” at the Persian court is attested also by Ctesias. Of thy fathers - i. e., thy predecessors ripen the throne, Cambyses, Cyrus, etc. If Artaxerxes was the Pseudo-Smerdis (Ezr 4:7 note), these persons were not really his “fathers” or ancestors; but the writers of the letter could not venture to call the king an impostor.
This site's exposition
Now because we have maintenance
on Ezra 4:14-16
The officials press their loyalty: maintenance from the king's palace makes silence about the king's dishonour unthinkable to them, so they ask Artaxerxes to search the book of the records of his fathers. There he will find, they claim, that Jerusalem is a rebellious city that has moved sedition of old, the very cause of its destruction. The appeal to archives gives the accusation the shape of a legal brief, built to survive a king's own verification.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It was therefore very unfair, though not uncommon, thus to impute the iniquity of the fathers to the children. (2.) Their information concerning what was now doing was grossly false in matter of fact.
The words behind it
29 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דִּ֡י | di | that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| יְבַקַּר֩ | yevakar | he will search | H1240 → | 5 times |
| בִּֽסְפַר־ | bisfar- | in [the] book of | H5609 → | 5 times |
| דָּכְרָ֨נַיָּ֜א | dakheranaiya' | records the | H1799 → | 3 times |
| דִּ֣י | di | of | H1768 → | 345 times |
| אֲבָהָתָ֗ךְ | ʾavahatakh | fathers your | H2 → | |
| וּ֠תְהַשְׁכַּח | utehashkach | so you may find | H7912 → | 18 times |
| בִּסְפַ֣ר | bisfar | in [the] book of | H5609 → | 5 times |
| דָּכְרָנַיָּא֮ | dakheranaiya' | records the | H1799 → | 3 times |
| וְתִנְדַּע֒ | vetinda' | so you may know | H3046 → | 47 times |
| דִּי֩ | di | that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| קִרְיְתָ֨א | kiryeta' | city the | H7149 → | 9 times |
| דָ֜ךְ | dakh | this | H1791 → | 13 times |
| קִרְיָ֣א | kirya' | [is] a city | H7149 → | 9 times |
| מָֽרָדָ֗א | marada' | rebellious | H4779 → | |
| וּֽמְהַנְזְקַ֤ת | umehanzekat | and injuring | H5142 → | 4 times |
| מַלְכִין֙ | malkhin | <of> kings | H4430 → | 180 times |
| וּמְדִנָ֔ן | umedinan | and provinces | H4083 → | 11 times |
| וְאֶשְׁתַּדּוּר֙ | veeshtadur | and a revolt | H849 → | |
| עָבְדִ֣ין | ʾavedin | [it was] making | H5648 → | 28 times |
| בְּגַוַּ֔הּ | begavah | in midst its | H1459 → | 13 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4481 → | 109 times |
| יוֹמָ֖ת | yomat | [the] days of | H3118 → | 16 times |
| עָלְמָ֑א | ʾalma' | <the> antiquity | H5957 → | |
| עַ֨ל־ | ʾal- | on | H5922 → | 104 times |
| דְּנָ֔ה | denah | this | H1836 → | 58 times |
| קִרְיְתָ֥א | kiryeta' | city the | H7149 → | 9 times |
| דָ֖ךְ | dakh | this | H1791 → | 13 times |
| הָֽחָרְבַֽת׃ | hacharevat | it was laid waste | H2718 → |
דִּ֡יthat
diH1768 →345 times
יְבַקַּר֩he will search
yevakarH1240 →5 times
בִּֽסְפַר־in [the] book of
bisfar-H5609 →5 times
דָּכְרָ֨נַיָּ֜אrecords the
dakheranaiya'H1799 →3 times
דִּ֣יof
diH1768 →345 times
אֲבָהָתָ֗ךְfathers your
ʾavahatakhH2 →
וּ֠תְהַשְׁכַּחso you may find
utehashkachH7912 →18 times
בִּסְפַ֣רin [the] book of
bisfarH5609 →5 times
דָּכְרָנַיָּא֮records the
dakheranaiya'H1799 →3 times
וְתִנְדַּע֒so you may know
vetinda'H3046 →47 times
דִּי֩that
diH1768 →345 times
קִרְיְתָ֨אcity the
kiryeta'H7149 →9 times
דָ֜ךְthis
dakhH1791 →13 times
קִרְיָ֣א[is] a city
kirya'H7149 →9 times
מָֽרָדָ֗אrebellious
marada'H4779 →
וּֽמְהַנְזְקַ֤תand injuring
umehanzekatH5142 →4 times
מַלְכִין֙<of> kings
malkhinH4430 →180 times
וּמְדִנָ֔ןand provinces
umedinanH4083 →11 times
וְאֶשְׁתַּדּוּר֙and a revolt
veeshtadurH849 →
עָבְדִ֣ין[it was] making
ʾavedinH5648 →28 times
בְּגַוַּ֔הּin midst its
begavahH1459 →13 times
מִן־from
min-H4481 →109 times
יוֹמָ֖ת[the] days of
yomatH3118 →16 times
עָלְמָ֑א<the> antiquity
ʾalma'H5957 →
עַ֨ל־on
ʾal-H5922 →104 times
דְּנָ֔הthis
denahH1836 →58 times
קִרְיְתָ֥אcity the
kiryeta'H7149 →9 times
דָ֖ךְthis
dakhH1791 →13 times
הָֽחָרְבַֽת׃it was laid waste
hacharevatH2718 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Nehemiah 2:19But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked us and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 6:6
that read: “It is reported among the nations—and Geshem agrees—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and this is why you are building the wall. According to these reports, you are to…
- Nehemiah 6:1–2
When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left—though to that time I had not yet installed the…
- Psalms 44:13–14
You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, a mockery and derision to those around us.
- Psalms 80:6
You make us contend with our neighbors; our enemies mock us.
- Nehemiah 6:6
Through
Nehemiah 6:6that read: “It is reported among the nations—and Geshem agrees—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and this is why you are building the wall. According to these reports, you are to…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 2:19
But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked us and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the…
- Romans 3:8
Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved!
- Nehemiah 2:19
Through
Ezra 4:12Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you to us have returned to Jerusalem. And they are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city, restoring its walls, and repairing…
it leads to
- Ezra 5:9
So we questioned the elders and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”
- Ezra 5:3
At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates went to the Jews and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”
- Ezra 5:9
About Ezra
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.