Christian Standard Bible
Ezra 4:3
3But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other heads of Israel’s families answered them, “You may have no part with us in building a house for our God, since we alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.”
Ezra 4:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.
- New International Version (NIV)But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers' houses in Israel said to them, "You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us."
- New King James Version (NKJV)But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”
Context of Ezra 4:3
1When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2they approached Zerubbabel and the family heads and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we also worship your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time King Esar-haddon of Assyria brought us here.” But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other heads of Israel’s families answered them, “You may have no part with us in building a house for our God, since we alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.” 4Then the people who were already in the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build. 5They also bribed officials to act against them to frustrate their plans throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia and until the reign of King Darius of Persia.
Read all of Ezra 4Ezra 4:3 word by word
וַיֹּאמֶר֩ לָהֶ֨ם זְרֻבָּבֶ֜ל וְיֵשׁ֗וּעַ וּשְׁאָ֨ר רָאשֵׁ֤י הָֽאָבוֹת֙ לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לֹֽא־לָ֣כֶם וָלָ֔נוּ לִבְנ֥וֹת בַּ֖יִת לֵאלֹהֵ֑ינוּ כִּי֩ אֲנַ֨חְנוּ יַ֜חַד נִבְנֶ֗ה לַֽיהוָה֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוָּ֔נוּ הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ כּ֥וֹרֶשׁ מֶֽלֶךְ־פָּרָֽס׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- But Zerubbabelזְרֻבָּבֶ֫לzerûbbâbel · ZerubbabelH2216
- and Jeshuaיֵשׁוּעַyêshûa‛ · JeshuaH3442
- and the restשְׁאָרshe'âr · remnantH7605
- of the chiefרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: leaderH7218
- of the fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to buildבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
- an houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: templeH1004
- unto our Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- but we ourselves togetherיַ֫חַדyachad · unitednessH3162
- unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- as kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- Cyrusכּ֫וֹרֶשׁkôresh kôresh · CyrusH3566
- of Persiaפָּרַסpâras · PersiaH6539
- hath commandedצָוָהtsâvâh · to commandH6680
Cross-references for Ezra 4:3
- Nehemiah 2:20I gave them this reply, “The God of the heavens is the one who will grant us success. We, his servants, will start building, but you have no share, right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”
- John 4:22You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews.
- Acts 8:21You have no part or share in this matter, because your heart is not right before God.
- Romans 9:4They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service, and the promises.
- 3 John 1:9I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have first place among them, does not receive our authority.
- Ezra 1:1In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord roused the spirit of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing:
- Ezra 6:3In the first year of King Cyrus, he issued a decree concerning the house of God in Jerusalem: Let the house be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices, and let its original foundations be retained. Its height is to be ninety feet and its width ninety feet,
- 2 Chronicles 36:22In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord roused the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and also to put it in writing:
- Isaiah 44:28who says to Cyrus, “My shepherd, he will fulfill all my pleasure” and says to Jerusalem, “She will be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Its foundation will be laid.”
- Isaiah 45:1The Lord says this to Cyrus, his anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and disarm kings, to open doors before him, and even city gates will not be shut:
- Matthew 10:16“Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves.
Commentaries on Ezra 4:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Ye have nothing to do with us - We cannot acknowledge you as worshippers of the true God, and cannot participate with you in anything that relates to his worship.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Ye have nothing to do with us - Because the Samaritans had united idolatrous rites with the worship of Yahweh 2 Kings 17:29-41. To have allowed them a share in restoring the temple would have been destructive of all purity of religion. As king Cyrus commanded us - The exact words of the edict gave the right of building exclusively to those who should “go up” from Babylonia to Judaea Ezra 1:3.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3The main political, religious, and tribal leaders united against the foreigners' proposal. They believed it would introduce idolatrous beliefs. The Jews wanted to avoid repeating their ancestors' mistake of worshiping Canaanite false gods, which led to exile. as Cyrus king of Persia has commanded us: See Ezra 1:2–4.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. But Zerubbabel and Jeshua ... said ... Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God--This refusal to co-operate with the Samaritans, from whatever motives it sprang, was overruled by Providence for ultimate good; for, had the two peoples worked together, familiar acquaintanceship and intermarriage would have ensued, and the result might have been a relapse of the Jews into idolatry. Most certainly, confusion and obscurity in the…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezra 4:3
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
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