Ezra 4:21
in Ezra 4Now, therefore, issue an order for these men to stop, so that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Make ye now a decree to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until a decree shall be made by me.
KJV
Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me.
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This verse in Ezra 4
Commentary
2 notes on this verseUntil another commandment shall be given from me - The rebuilding was only provisionally suspended. The decree was, Let it cease for the present; nor let it proceed at any time without an order express from me.
This site's exposition
There have been mighty kings
on Ezra 4:20-22
Artaxerxes recalls that mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem and over all the country beyond the river, receiving toll, tribute and custom, a memory of Judah and Israel's own monarchy read back through Persian administrative eyes. On that ground he commands the officials to cause the men to cease and to stop the building until another commandment comes from him, and he closes with a warning against negligence, why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings. The decree is provisional, another commandment, a detail that later chapters make good on when the work resumes.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כְּעַן֙ | kean | now | H3705 → | 13 times |
| שִׂ֣ימוּ | simu | make | H7761 → | 26 times |
| טְּעֵ֔ם | teem | a decree | H2942 → | 28 times |
| לְבַטָּלָ֖א | levatala' | to make to cease | H989 → | 6 times |
| גֻּבְרַיָּ֣א | guvraiya' | men the | H1400 → | 21 times |
| אִלֵּ֑ךְ | ʾilekh | these | H479 → | 14 times |
| וְקִרְיְתָ֥א | vekiryeta' | and city the | H7149 → | 9 times |
| דָךְ֙ | dokh | this | H1791 → | 13 times |
| לָ֣א | la' | not | H3809 → | 82 times |
| תִתְבְּנֵ֔א | titbene' | it will be built | H1124 → | 22 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5705 → | 35 times |
| מִנִּ֖י | mini | from me | H4481 → | 109 times |
| טַעְמָ֥א | ta'ma' | decree the | H2942 → | 28 times |
| יִתְּשָֽׂם׃ | yitesam | it will be made | H7761 → | 26 times |
כְּעַן֙now
keanH3705 →13 times
שִׂ֣ימוּmake
simuH7761 →26 times
טְּעֵ֔םa decree
teemH2942 →28 times
לְבַטָּלָ֖אto make to cease
levatala'H989 →6 times
גֻּבְרַיָּ֣אmen the
guvraiya'H1400 →21 times
אִלֵּ֑ךְthese
ʾilekhH479 →14 times
וְקִרְיְתָ֥אand city the
vekiryeta'H7149 →9 times
דָךְ֙this
dokhH1791 →13 times
לָ֣אnot
la'H3809 →82 times
תִתְבְּנֵ֔אit will be built
titbene'H1124 →22 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5705 →35 times
מִנִּ֖יfrom me
miniH4481 →109 times
טַעְמָ֥אdecree the
ta'ma'H2942 →28 times
יִתְּשָֽׂם׃it will be made
yitesamH7761 →26 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About Ezra
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.