Ezra 4:12
in Ezra 4Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you to us have returned to Jerusalem. And they are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city, restoring its walls, and repairing its foundations.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Be it known unto the king, that the Jews that came up from thee are come to us unto Jerusalem; they are building the rebellious and the bad city, and have finished the walls, and repaired the foundations.
KJV
Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations.
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This verse in Ezra 4
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
This is the text of the letter
on Ezra 4:11-13
The charge is specific. The Jews are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city, and if the work goes on they will not pay tribute, duty, or toll. The accusers argue from the royal treasury, making a rebuilt wall a threat to Persian income.
This site's exposition
that rebellious and wicked city
The accusation fixes on the city, its walls and its foundations. Rebellious and wicked are the writers' words, and verse 15 sends the king to his archives to confirm them. Matthew Henry calls their report of the present work grossly false in matter of fact.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Now, therefore, let it be known to the king, etc., thanks be to God, that the enemies of the city of the Lord, which is the Church, confess the truth about that city; for if it were built after captivity and its walls made of …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), when this was far from being the case. They had only begun to build the temple, which Cyrus commanded them to do, but, as for the walls, there was nothing done nor designed towards the repair of them, as appears by the condition they were in many years after ( Neh. i.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
Be it known unto the king,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the Jews which came up from thee to us--The name "Jews" was generally used after the return from the captivity, because the returning exiles belonged chiefly to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Let it be known to the king Let it be a known thing to the king.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
This is the meaning of the letter and this is the interpretation of the letter.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְדִ֙יעַ֙ | yedia' | known | H3046 → | 47 times |
| לֶהֱוֵ֣א | leheve' | let it be | H1934 → | 71 times |
| לְמַלְכָּ֔א | lemalka' | to king the | H4430 → | 180 times |
| דִּ֣י | di | that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| יְהוּדָיֵ֗א | yehudaye' | Jews the | H3062 → | 10 times |
| דִּ֤י | di | who | H1768 → | 345 times |
| סְלִ֙קוּ֙ | seliku | they came up | H5559 → | |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4481 → | 109 times |
| לְוָתָ֔ךְ | levatakh | beside you | H3890 → | |
| עֲלֶ֥ינָא | ʾaleina' | to us | H5922 → | 104 times |
| אֲת֖וֹ | ʾato | they have come | H858 → | 16 times |
| לִירוּשְׁלֶ֑ם | lirushelem | to Jerusalem | H3390 → | 26 times |
| קִרְיְתָ֨א | kiryeta' | city the | H7149 → | 9 times |
| מָֽרָדְתָּ֤א | maradeta' | <the> rebellious | H4779 → | |
| וּבִֽישְׁתָּא֙ | uviyosheta' | and evil <the> | H873 → | |
| בָּנַ֔יִן | banayin | [they are] building | H1124 → | 22 times |
| וְשׁוּרַיָּ֣א | veshuraiya' | and walls the | H7792 → | 3 times |
| שַׁכְלִ֔ילוּ | shakhlilu | they have finished | H3635 → | 7 times |
| וְאֻשַּׁיָּ֖א | veushaiya' | and foundations the | H787 → | 3 times |
| יַחִֽיטוּ׃ | yachitu | they are repairing | H2338 → |
יְדִ֙יעַ֙known
yedia'H3046 →47 times
לֶהֱוֵ֣אlet it be
leheve'H1934 →71 times
לְמַלְכָּ֔אto king the
lemalka'H4430 →180 times
דִּ֣יthat
diH1768 →345 times
יְהוּדָיֵ֗אJews the
yehudaye'H3062 →10 times
דִּ֤יwho
diH1768 →345 times
סְלִ֙קוּ֙they came up
selikuH5559 →
מִן־from
min-H4481 →109 times
לְוָתָ֔ךְbeside you
levatakhH3890 →
עֲלֶ֥ינָאto us
ʾaleina'H5922 →104 times
אֲת֖וֹthey have come
ʾatoH858 →16 times
לִירוּשְׁלֶ֑םto Jerusalem
lirushelemH3390 →26 times
קִרְיְתָ֨אcity the
kiryeta'H7149 →9 times
מָֽרָדְתָּ֤א<the> rebellious
maradeta'H4779 →
וּבִֽישְׁתָּא֙and evil <the>
uviyosheta'H873 →
בָּנַ֔יִן[they are] building
banayinH1124 →22 times
וְשׁוּרַיָּ֣אand walls the
veshuraiya'H7792 →3 times
שַׁכְלִ֔ילוּthey have finished
shakhliluH3635 →7 times
וְאֻשַּׁיָּ֖אand foundations the
veushaiya'H787 →3 times
יַחִֽיטוּ׃they are repairing
yachituH2338 →
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 5:3At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates went to the Jews and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”
it leads to
- Ezra 6:6
Therefore Darius decreed: To Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates and officials in the region: You must stay away from that place!
- Ezra 5:9
So we questioned the elders and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”
- Ezra 1:3
Whoever among you belongs to His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is…
- Ezra 6:13
In response, Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates diligently carried out what King Darius had decreed.
- Ezra 6:6
Through
2 Chronicles 36:13He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. But Zedekiah stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD, the God of Israel.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 52:2–3
And Zedekiah did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done.
- 2 Chronicles 30:8
Now do not stiffen your necks as your fathers did. Submit to the LORD and come to His sanctuary, which He has consecrated forever. Serve the LORD your God, so that His fierce anger…
- Ezekiel 17:11–20
Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
- Jeremiah 52:2–3
Through
Ezra 4:19I issued a decree, and a search was conducted. It was discovered that this city has revolted against kings from ancient times, engaging in rebellion and sedition.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 18:7
And the LORD was with Hezekiah, and he prospered wherever he went. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to serve him.
- 2 Kings 18:7
Where this verse is studied
About Ezra
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; Berean Standard Bible, Ezra 4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. F. Adeney, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther (Expositor's Bible).