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Ezra 5:16

in Ezra 5

So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of the house of God in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been under construction, but it has not yet been completed.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the foundations of the house of God which is in Jerusalem: and since that time even until now hath it been in building, and yet it is not completed.

KJV

Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem: and since that time even until now hath it been in building, and yet it is not finished.

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This verse in Ezra 5

Commentary

3 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Sheshbazzar - Probably the military officer that conducted the people from Babylon, and had the oversight of the work; but some think that Ezra is meant.

This site's exposition

laid the foundation of the house of God

on Ezra 5:16-17

Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of the house of God in Jerusalem, and the elders' answer closes with an honest admission, it has been in building ever since, and it is not finished yet. The unfinished house is the whole reason for the letter, the very thing Tatnai found in progress and asked about. His closing request is even-handed rather than hostile: let the king search the treasure house at Babylon and confirm whether Cyrus really made such a decree, then send his pleasure on the matter. Keil reads the request as the turning point of the episode, since a search of the royal archives is the one thing that can settle the question without another stoppage.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Shesh-bazzar . . . since that time even until now hath it been in building--This was not a part of the Jews' answer--they could not have said this, knowing the building had long ceased.

The words behind it

18 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.

  • אֱדַ֙יִן֙then

    ʾedayinH116 →57 times

  • שֵׁשְׁבַּצַּ֣רSheshbazzar

    sheshebatzarH8340 →

  • דֵּ֔ךְthis

    dekhH1791 →13 times

  • אֲתָ֗אhe came

    ʾata'H858 →16 times

  • יְהַ֧בhe laid

    yehavH3052 →28 times

  • אֻשַּׁיָּ֛אfoundations the

    ʾushaiya'H787 →3 times

  • דִּי־of

    di-H1768 →345 times

  • בֵ֥ית[the] house of

    veitH1005 →44 times

  • אֱלָהָ֖א<the> God

    ʾelaha'H426 →95 times

  • דִּ֣יwhich

    diH1768 →345 times

  • בִירוּשְׁלֶ֑ם[is] in Jerusalem

    virushelemH3390 →26 times

  • וּמִן־and from

    umin-H4481 →109 times

  • אֱדַ֧יִןthen

    ʾedayinH116 →57 times

  • וְעַד־and until

    vead-H5705 →35 times

  • כְּעַ֛ןnow

    keanH3705 →13 times

  • מִתְבְּנֵ֖א[it is] being built

    mitbene'H1124 →22 times

  • וְלָ֥אand not

    vela'H3809 →82 times

  • שְׁלִֽם׃[it is] finished

    shelimH8000 →

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

Related verses

10 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 3:10When the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their positions to praise the LORD, as David king of Israel had prescribed.5 worksEzra 6:15And this temple was completed on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.5 worksEzra 3:8In the second month of the second year after they had arrived at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their associates including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began the work. They appointed Levites twenty years of age or older to supervise the construction of the house of the LORD.4 worksZechariah 4:9“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent me to you.4 worksEzra 5:14He also removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and silver articles belonging to the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken and carried there from the temple in Jerusalem. King Cyrus gave these articles to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he appointed governor3 worksZechariah 4:10For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven eyes of the LORD, which scan the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”2 works
The other 4 cross-references, with their words ▾
Haggai 2:18Consider carefully from this day forward—from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, the day the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid—consider carefully:2 worksEzra 5:2Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak rose up and began to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them.2 worksHaggai 1:12–14Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. So the people feared the LORD.2 worksEzra 1:8Cyrus king of Persia had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Zechariah 4:10

    For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven eyes of the LORD, which scan the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”

    it leads to

    • Job 8:7

      Though your beginnings were modest, your latter days will flourish.

    • 1 Corinthians 1:28–29

      He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are,

    • Matthew 13:31–33

      He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field.

    • 2 Chronicles 16:9

      For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in…

    • Haggai 2:3

      ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not appear to you like nothing in comparison?’

  • Through

    Haggai 2:18

    Consider carefully from this day forward—from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, the day the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid—consider carefully:

    it leads to

    • Zechariah 8:9

      This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were present when the foundations were laid to rebuild the…

    • Haggai 2:15

      Now consider carefully from this day forward: Before one stone was placed on another in the temple of the LORD,

  • Through

    Ezra 3:8

    In the second month of the second year after they had arrived at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their associates including…

    it leads to

    • Ezra 4:3

      But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other heads of the families of Israel replied, “You have no part with us in building a house for our God, since we alone must build it for the…

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 5 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

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