Ezra 4:23
in Ezra 4When the text of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and forcibly stopped them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then when the copy of king Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.
KJV
Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.
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This verse in Ezra 4
Commentary
2 notes on this verseAs they abused the king in obtaining this order by their mis-informations, so they abused him in the execution of it; for the order was only to prevent the walling of the city, but, having force and power on their side, they construed it as relating to the temple, for it was that to which they had an ill will, and which they only wanted some colour to hinder the building of.
This site's exposition
they went up in haste
on Ezra 4:23-24
With the king's letter in hand, Rehum, Shimshai and their companions go up to Jerusalem in haste and make the Jews cease by force and power, the topical block on opposition reaching its practical end. Verse 24 then closes the parenthesis exactly where it opened, returning the narrative to the temple's own story with the same verb the chapter began with, ceased, and dating the resumption to the second year of the reign of Darius. Keil and the bench read this return as the chapter's own signal that verses 6 through 23 stand as a deliberate aside on hostility itself, since chapter 5 picks up the temple work already stopped by chapter 4 verse 5's earlier notice.
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֱדַ֗יִן | ʾedayin | then | H116 → | 57 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4481 → | 109 times |
| דִּ֞י | di | that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| פַּרְשֶׁ֤גֶן | parshegen | [the] copy of | H6573 → | 3 times |
| נִשְׁתְּוָנָא֙ | nishtevana' | letter the | H5407 → | 3 times |
| דִּ֚י | di | of | H1768 → | 345 times |
| אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֣שְׂתְּ | ʾartachshaste | Artaxerxes | H783 → | 15 times |
| מַלְכָּ֔א | malka' | king the | H4430 → | 180 times |
| קֱרִ֧י | keri | it was read aloud | H7123 → | |
| קֳדָם־ | kodom- | before | H6925 → | 42 times |
| רְח֛וּם | rechum | Rehum | H7348 → | 8 times |
| וְשִׁמְשַׁ֥י | veshimshai | and Shimshai | H8124 → | 4 times |
| סָפְרָ֖א | safera' | scribe the | H5613 → | 8 times |
| וּכְנָוָתְה֑וֹן | ukhenavatehon | and associates their | H3675 → | 7 times |
| אֲזַ֨לוּ | ʾazalu | they went | H236 → | 7 times |
| בִבְהִיל֤וּ | vivhilu | in haste | H924 → | |
| לִירֽוּשְׁלֶם֙ | lirushelem | to Jerusalem | H3390 → | 26 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5922 → | 104 times |
| יְה֣וּדָיֵ֔א | yehudaye' | Jews the | H3062 → | 10 times |
| וּבַטִּ֥לוּ | uvatilu | and they made to cease | H989 → | 6 times |
| הִמּ֖וֹ | himo | them | H1994 → | 12 times |
| בְּאֶדְרָ֥ע | beedra' | with force | H153 → | |
| וְחָֽיִל׃ ס | vechayil | and power | H2429 → |
אֱדַ֗יִןthen
ʾedayinH116 →57 times
מִן־from
min-H4481 →109 times
דִּ֞יthat
diH1768 →345 times
פַּרְשֶׁ֤גֶן[the] copy of
parshegenH6573 →3 times
נִשְׁתְּוָנָא֙letter the
nishtevana'H5407 →3 times
דִּ֚יof
diH1768 →345 times
אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֣שְׂתְּArtaxerxes
ʾartachshasteH783 →15 times
מַלְכָּ֔אking the
malka'H4430 →180 times
קֱרִ֧יit was read aloud
keriH7123 →
קֳדָם־before
kodom-H6925 →42 times
רְח֛וּםRehum
rechumH7348 →8 times
וְשִׁמְשַׁ֥יand Shimshai
veshimshaiH8124 →4 times
סָפְרָ֖אscribe the
safera'H5613 →8 times
וּכְנָוָתְה֑וֹןand associates their
ukhenavatehonH3675 →7 times
אֲזַ֨לוּthey went
ʾazaluH236 →7 times
בִבְהִיל֤וּin haste
vivhiluH924 →
לִירֽוּשְׁלֶם֙to Jerusalem
lirushelemH3390 →26 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5922 →104 times
יְה֣וּדָיֵ֔אJews the
yehudaye'H3062 →10 times
וּבַטִּ֥לוּand they made to cease
uvatiluH989 →6 times
הִמּ֖וֹthem
himoH1994 →12 times
בְּאֶדְרָ֥עwith force
beedra'H153 →
וְחָֽיִל׃ סand power
vechayilH2429 →
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
Romans 3:15“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
it leads to
- Proverbs 1:16
For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 59:7–8
Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.
- Proverbs 1:16
Through
Micah 2:1Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.
it leads to
- Psalms 36:4
Even on his bed he plots wickedness; he sets himself on a path that is not good; he fails to reject evil.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 32:7
The weapons of the scoundrel are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.
- Psalms 7:14–16
Behold, the wicked man travails with evil; he conceives trouble and births falsehood.
- Hosea 7:6–7
For they prepare their heart like an oven while they lie in wait; all night their anger smolders; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
- Nahum 1:11
From you, O Nineveh, comes forth a plotter of evil against the LORD, a counselor of wickedness.
- Psalms 36:4
Through
Proverbs 4:16For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; they are deprived of slumber until they make someone fall.
it leads to
- Micah 2:1
Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.
- Micah 2:1
About Ezra

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. F. Adeney, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther (Expositor's Bible).
