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Ezra 4:16

in Ezra 4

We advise the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, you will have no dominion west of the Euphrates.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

We certify the king that, if this city be builded, and the walls finished, by this means thou shalt have no portion beyond the River.

KJV

We certify the king that, if this city be builded again, and the walls thereof set up, by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side the river.

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This verse in Ezra 4

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

we are in the service of the palace

on Ezra 4:14-16

They ask Artaxerxes to search the record books of his fathers. There, they claim, he will find that Jerusalem is a rebellious city, inciting sedition from ancient times. The appeal to the archives gives the charge the shape of a legal brief, built to survive the king's own check.

This site's exposition

no dominion west of the Euphrates

The letter closes on its largest claim. Verse 13 warned of lost tribute, and this verse warns of a lost province, the whole region west of the Euphrates. Verse 20 shows the king taking up the point, recalling mighty kings who once ruled over Jerusalem and that whole region.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah · Written before 735.

proposed

We announce to the king, that if that city is built, etc. He names the Euphrates river, within which is Syria. Which rightly indicates the stream of holy baptism, either because it is one of the four rivers which, rising from one source in paradise, …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

19 And I commanded, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein. 20 There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture

We certify the king, that if this city be builded again, and the walls thereof set up,.... As it formerly was, and now attempted, as they suggest: by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side the river; the river Euphrates; intimating that the Jews would not only shake off his yoke, and refuse to pay tribute themselves, but would seize on all his dominions on that side the river, and annex them to their own.

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.

  • מְהוֹדְעִ֤ין[are] making known

    mehodinH3046 →47 times

  • אֲנַ֙חְנָה֙we

    ʾanachnahH586 →

  • לְמַלְכָּ֔אto king the

    lemalka'H4430 →180 times

  • דִּ֠יthat

    diH1768 →345 times

  • הֵ֣ןif

    henH2006 →19 times

  • קִרְיְתָ֥אcity the

    kiryeta'H7149 →9 times

  • דָךְ֙this

    dokhH1791 →13 times

  • תִּתְבְּנֵ֔אit will be built

    titbene'H1124 →22 times

  • וְשׁוּרַיָּ֖הand walls the

    veshuraiyah'H7792 →3 times

  • יִֽשְׁתַּכְלְל֑וּןthey will be finished

    yishtakhlelunH3635 →7 times

  • לָקֳבֵ֣ל<to> before

    lokovelH6903 →29 times

  • דְּנָ֔הthis

    denahH1836 →58 times

  • חֲלָק֙possession

    chalakH2508 →

  • בַּעֲבַ֣רin [the] region beyond

    baavarH5675 →14 times

  • נַהֲרָ֔אriver the

    nahara'H5103 →15 times

  • לָ֥אnot

    la'H3809 →82 times

  • אִיתַ֖יthere

    ʾitaiH383 →

  • לָֽךְ׃ פ[will be] to you

    lakh

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

Related verses

5 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 7:21I, 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 promptly,4 works2 Samuel 8:3David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who had marched out to restore his dominion along the Euphrates River.2 works1 Kings 4:24For Solomon had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates—over all the kingdoms from Tiphsah to Gaza—and he had peace on all sides.2 worksEzra 4:20And mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region west of the Euphrates; and tribute, duty, and toll were paid to them.2 worksEzra 6:8I hereby decree what you must do for these elders of the Jews who are rebuilding this house of God: The cost is to be paid in full to these men from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces west of the Euphrates, so that the work will not be hindered.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

    Ezra 4:20

    And mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region west of the Euphrates; and tribute, duty, and toll were paid to them.

    it leads to

    • 1 Chronicles 18:3

      As far as Hamath, David also defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah, who had marched out to establish his dominion along the Euphrates River.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Kings 4:21

      And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of…

    • Genesis 15:18

      On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—

  • Through

    1 Kings 4:24

    For Solomon had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates—over all the kingdoms from Tiphsah to Gaza—and he had peace on all sides.

    it leads to

    • 1 Chronicles 22:9

      But a son will be born to you who will be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name will be Solomon, and…

    • Psalms 72:11

      May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him.

  • Through

    2 Samuel 8:3

    David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who had marched out to restore his dominion along the Euphrates River.

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 14:47

      After Saul had assumed the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side—the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he routed…

    • 2 Samuel 10:16

      Hadadezer sent messengers to bring more Arameans from beyond the Euphrates, and they came to Helam with Shobach the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.

    • 2 Samuel 10:19

      When all the kings who were subject to Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them. So the Arameans were afraid to help…

Where this verse is studied

About Ezra

Cyrus Restores the Vessels of the Temple, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Cyrus Restores the Vessels of the Temple, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezra: the study guide →Read Ezra 4 →

This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; Berean Standard Bible, Ezra 4; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Ezra 4 →