American Standard Version
Ezra 4:13
13Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and in the end it will be hurtful unto the kings.
Ezra 4:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings.
- New International Version (NIV)Furthermore, the king should know that if this city is built and its walls are restored, no more taxes, tribute or duty will be paid, and eventually the royal revenues will suffer.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Let it now be known to the king that, if this city is built and the walls completed, they will not pay tax, tribute, or custom, and the king’s treasury will be diminished.
Context of Ezra 4:13
11This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants the men beyond the River, and so forth. 12Be 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. Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and in the end it will be hurtful unto the kings. 14Now because we eat the salt of the palace, and it is not meet for us to see the king’s dishonor, therefore have we sent and certified the king; 15that search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time; for which cause was this city laid waste.
Read all of Ezra 4Ezra 4:13 word by word
כְּעַ֗ן יְדִ֙יעַ֙ לֶהֱוֵ֣א לְמַלְכָּ֔א דִּ֠י הֵ֣ן קִרְיְתָ֥א דָךְ֙ תִּתְבְּנֵ֔א וְשׁוּרַיָּ֖ה יִֽשְׁתַּכְלְל֑וּן מִנְדָּֽה־בְל֤וֹ וַהֲלָךְ֙ לָ֣א יִנְתְּנ֔וּן וְאַפְּתֹ֥ם מַלְכִ֖ים תְּהַנְזִֽק׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Ezra 4:13
- Nehemiah 5:4There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute upon our fields and our vineyards.
- Psalms 52:2Thy tongue deviseth very wickedness, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
- Psalms 119:69The proud have forged a lie against me: With my whole heart will I keep thy precepts.
- Ezra 7:24Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, the singers, porters, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll, upon them.
- Matthew 9:9And as Jesus passed by from thence, he saw a man, called Matthew, sitting at the place of toll: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.
- Matthew 17:25He saith, Yea. And when he came into the house, Jesus spake first to him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? the kings of the earth, from whom do they receive toll or tribute? from their sons, or from strangers?
- Romans 13:6For for this cause ye pay tribute also; for they are ministers of God’s service, attending continually upon this very thing.
Commentaries on Ezra 4:13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13Toll, tribute, and custom - The first term is supposed to imply the capitation tax; the second, an excise on commodities and merchandise; the third, a sort of land tax. Others suppose the first means a property tax; the second, a poll tax; and the third, what was paid on imports and exports. In a word, if you permit these people to rebuild and fortify their city, they will soon set you at naught, and pay you no kind of tribute.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13Toll, tribute, and custom - Rather, “tribute, provision, and toll” (so Ezra 4:20). The “tribute” is the money-tax imposed on each province, and apportioned to the inhabitants by the local authorities; the “provision” is the payment in kind, which was an integral part of the Persian system; the “tolI” is probably a payment required from those who used the Persian highways. The revenue - The word thus translated is not found elsewhere, and can only be…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-24Verses 6-24 It is an old slander, that the prosperity of the church would be hurtful to kings and princes. Nothing can be more false, for true godliness teaches us to honour and obey our sovereign. But where the command of God requires one thing and the law of the land another, we must obey God rather than man, and patiently submit to the consequences. All who love the gospel should avoid all appearance of evil, lest they should encourage the adversaries…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13A tribute was a yearly set tax. Customs were likely sales taxes, and tolls were probably fees for using roads. Earlier rulers had gathered significant revenue from the region (Ezra 4:20; compare 1 Kings 10:14–15).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. toll, tribute, and custom--The first was a poll tax; the second was a property tax; the third the excise dues on articles of trade and merchandise. Their letter, and the edict that followed, commanding an immediate cessation of the work at the city walls, form the exclusive subject of narrative at Ezr 4:7-23. And now from this digression [the historian] returns at Ezr 4:24 to resume the thread of his narrative concerning the building of the temple.Read the comment
Topics related to Ezra 4:13
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezra 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries