Ezra 4:18
in Ezra 4The letter you sent us has been translated and read in my presence.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.
KJV
The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.
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This verse in Ezra 4
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThe letter which ye sent unto us,.... The plural number is used, being now become courtly for kings thus to speak of themselves: hath been plainly before me; by such that understood both the Syrian and Persian languages; the letter was written in the Syrian language, and the king being a Persian, it was necessary it should be interpreted and explained to him.
This site's exposition
sent the king an answer
on Ezra 4:17-19
Artaxerxes answers through the same channel it came by, and the letter is read before him plainly. He orders a search of the records and reports what is found: this city of old time has made insurrection against kings, and rebellion and sedition have been made in it. The king's own archives become the ground for what follows, and the text lets the reader see that process.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Interpreted - It was written in the Chaldee or Syrian language, and in the Syrian character: for sometimes the Chaldee or Syrian words are written in the Hebrew character. Asnapper - Either Esarhaddon, or some other person of eminency, who was captain of this colony, and conducted them hither.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Hath been ... read - It is doubtful if the Persian monarchs could ordinarily read. At any rate, it was their habit to have documents read to them (compare Est 6:1). This is still the ordinary practice in Eastern courts.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נִשְׁתְּוָנָ֕א | nishtevana' | letter the | H5407 → | 3 times |
| דִּ֥י | di | which | H1768 → | 345 times |
| שְׁלַחְתּ֖וּן | shelachtun | you sent | H7972 → | 14 times |
| עֲלֶ֑ינָא | ʾaleina' | to us | H5922 → | 104 times |
| מְפָרַ֥שׁ | mefarash | made distinct | H6568 → | |
| קֱרִ֖י | keri | it was read aloud | H7123 → | |
| קָדָמָֽי׃ | kadamai | before me | H6925 → | 42 times |
נִשְׁתְּוָנָ֕אletter the
nishtevana'H5407 →3 times
דִּ֥יwhich
diH1768 →345 times
שְׁלַחְתּ֖וּןyou sent
shelachtunH7972 →14 times
עֲלֶ֑ינָאto us
ʾaleina'H5922 →104 times
מְפָרַ֥שׁmade distinct
mefarashH6568 →
קֱרִ֖יit was read aloud
keriH7123 →
קָדָמָֽי׃before me
kadamaiH6925 →42 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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 8:8So they read from the Book of the Law of God, explaining it and giving insight, so that the people could understand what was being read.
it leads to
- Luke 24:45
Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
- Acts 28:23
So they set a day to meet with Paul, and many people came to the place he was staying. He expounded to them from morning to evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and…
- Acts 17:2–3
As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
- Acts 8:30–35
So Philip ran up and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
- Luke 24:27
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.
- Luke 24:45
About Ezra
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.