Ezra 6:14
in Ezra 6So the Jewish elders built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the elders of the Jews builded and prospered, through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the decree of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
KJV
And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
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This verse in Ezra 6
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd they built and constructed, etc. He says Artaxerxes, who reigned after Darius, during whose time Ezra ascended from Babylon to Jerusalem. However, it is questioned how it is said that, by order not only of Cyrus and Darius but also Artaxerxes, the house of …
This site's exposition
so they did speedily
on Ezra 6:13-15
Tatnai and his companions obey speedily, exactly as Darius sent, and the delay that once stopped the work becomes the channel that funds it. Verse 14 names the true cause behind the king's paperwork: the elders builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, the narrative anchor for both prophetic books. Wesley reads the same verse against any thought that Darius acted from mere kindness, tracing the success instead to God, who by his prophets required the work and then moved a pagan king's heart to fund it. The house is finished on the third day of Adar, in the sixth year of Darius, four years after the decree that restarted the work.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Through the prophesying - This is a seasonable intimation that this great and unexpected success was not to be ascribed to chance, or to the kindness or good humour of Darius, but unto God only, who by his prophets had required and encouraged them to proceed in the work, and by his mighty power disposed Darius's heart to such kind and noble purposes.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
According to the commandment of the God of Israel - He first gave the order, and stirred up the hearts of the following Persian kings to second that order. Of Cyrus - This sovereign gave his orders for the rebuilding of the temple about A.M. 3468. And Darius - Darius Hystaspes confirmed the above orders, A. M. 3485. And Artaxerxes - Artaxerxes Longimanus sent Ezra to Judea with new privileges, A.M. 3547. With the permission of the same king, Nehemiah came to Judea in 3550. The writer recapitulates the different sovereigns who favored the Jews after the Babylonish captivity.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
on Ezra 6:13-15
Then Tatnai . . . did speedily--A concurrence of favorable events is mentioned as accelerating the restoration of the temple and infusing a new spirit and energy into the workmen, who now labored with unabating assiduity till it was brought to a completion. Its foundation was laid in April, 536 B.C.
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשָׂבֵ֤י | vesavei | and [the] elders of | H7868 → | 5 times |
| יְהוּדָיֵא֙ | yehudaye' | Jews the | H3062 → | 10 times |
| בָּנַ֣יִן | banayin | [were] building | H1124 → | 22 times |
| וּמַצְלְחִ֔ין | umatzlechin | and prospering | H6744 → | |
| בִּנְבוּאַת֙ | binvuat | by [the] prophesying of | H5017 → | |
| חַגַּ֣י | chagai | Haggai | H2292 → | |
| נְבִיָּ֔א | neviah' | prophet the | H5029 → | 4 times |
| וּזְכַרְיָ֖ה | uzekharyah | and Zechariah | H2148 → | 43 times |
| בַּר־ | bar- | [the] son of | H1247 → | 19 times |
| עִדּ֑וֹא | ido' | Iddo | H5714 → | |
| וּבְנ֣וֹ | uveno | and they built | H1124 → | 22 times |
| וְשַׁכְלִ֗לוּ | veshakhlilu | and they finished | H3635 → | 7 times |
| מִן־ | min- | according to | H4481 → | 109 times |
| טַ֙עַם֙ | taam | [the] decree of | H2942 → | 28 times |
| אֱלָ֣הּ | ʾelah | [the] God of | H426 → | 95 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3479 → | 8 times |
| וּמִטְּעֵם֙ | umiteem | and according to [the] decree of | H2942 → | 28 times |
| כּ֣וֹרֶשׁ | koresh | Cyrus | H3567 → | 8 times |
| וְדָרְיָ֔וֶשׁ | vedareyavesh | and Darius | H1868 → | 15 times |
| וְאַרְתַּחְשַׁ֖שְׂתְּא | veartachshaste' | and Artaxerxes | H783 → | 15 times |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4430 → | 180 times |
| פָּרָֽס׃ | paras | Persia | H6540 → |
וְשָׂבֵ֤יand [the] elders of
vesaveiH7868 →5 times
יְהוּדָיֵא֙Jews the
yehudaye'H3062 →10 times
בָּנַ֣יִן[were] building
banayinH1124 →22 times
וּמַצְלְחִ֔יןand prospering
umatzlechinH6744 →
בִּנְבוּאַת֙by [the] prophesying of
binvuatH5017 →
חַגַּ֣יHaggai
chagaiH2292 →
נְבִיָּ֔אprophet the
neviah'H5029 →4 times
וּזְכַרְיָ֖הand Zechariah
uzekharyahH2148 →43 times
בַּר־[the] son of
bar-H1247 →19 times
עִדּ֑וֹאIddo
ido'H5714 →
וּבְנ֣וֹand they built
uvenoH1124 →22 times
וְשַׁכְלִ֗לוּand they finished
veshakhliluH3635 →7 times
מִן־according to
min-H4481 →109 times
טַ֙עַם֙[the] decree of
taamH2942 →28 times
אֱלָ֣הּ[the] God of
ʾelahH426 →95 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3479 →8 times
וּמִטְּעֵם֙and according to [the] decree of
umiteemH2942 →28 times
כּ֣וֹרֶשׁCyrus
koreshH3567 →8 times
וְדָרְיָ֔וֶשׁand Darius
vedareyaveshH1868 →15 times
וְאַרְתַּחְשַׁ֖שְׂתְּאand Artaxerxes
veartachshaste'H783 →15 times
מֶ֥לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4430 →180 times
פָּרָֽס׃Persia
parasH6540 →
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
Ezra 7:1Many years later, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,
it leads to
- Nehemiah 2:1
Now in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad…
- 1 Chronicles 6:4–14
Eleazar was the father of Phinehas, Phinehas was the father of Abishua,
- Ezra 7:21
I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers west of the Euphrates: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it must be provided…
- 2 Kings 22:4
“Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him count the money that has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people.
- Ezra 7:12
Artaxerxes, king of kings. To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Greetings.
- Nehemiah 2:1
Through
Ezra 4:24Thus the construction of the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
it leads to
- Haggai 1:15
on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.
- Haggai 1:15
Through
Ezra 5:13In his first year, however, Cyrus king of Babylon issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.
it leads to
- Ezra 1:1–8
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout…
- Isaiah 44:28
who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”
- Ezra 1:1–8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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About Ezra

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.
