EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Ezra 4:2
2They went to speak to Zerubbabel and to the leaders of the Israelite families. They said, ‘Let us help you to build the temple. We also want to worship your God. We have lived in this country since Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, brought us here. All this time we have made sacrifices to your God.’
Ezra 4:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esar–haddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.
- New International Version (NIV)they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' houses and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here."
- New King James Version (NKJV)they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”
Context of Ezra 4:2
1The Israelites who had returned to Jerusalem from exile were building the temple for the Lord, Israel's God. The enemies of the people of Judah and Benjamin heard that the Israelites had begun to build. They went to speak to Zerubbabel and to the leaders of the Israelite families. They said, ‘Let us help you to build the temple. We also want to worship your God. We have lived in this country since Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, brought us here. All this time we have made sacrifices to your God.’ 3But Zerubbabel, Jeshua and the other leaders of Israel's people said, ‘No. You cannot help us to build the temple for our God. We must build it by ourselves for the Lord, Israel's God. That is what Cyrus, king of Persia, has commanded us to do.’ 4Then the people who lived near them tried to make Judah's people afraid. They tried to stop them building.
Read all of Ezra 4Ezra 4:2 word by word
וַיִּגְּשׁ֨וּ אֶל־זְרֻבָּבֶ֜ל וְאֶל־רָאשֵׁ֣י הָֽאָב֗וֹת וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ לָהֶם֙ נִבְנֶ֣ה עִמָּכֶ֔ם כִּ֣י כָכֶ֔ם נִדְר֖וֹשׁ לֵֽאלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם וְל֣וֹ אֲנַ֣חְנוּ זֹבְחִ֗ים מִימֵי֙ אֵסַ֤ר חַדֹּן֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ אַשּׁ֔וּר הַמַּעֲלֶ֥ה אֹתָ֖נוּ פֹּֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then they cameנָגַשׁnâgash · to approach: approachH5066
- to Zerubbabelזְרֻבָּבֶ֫לzerûbbâbel · ZerubbabelH2216
- and to the chiefרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: leaderH7218
- of the fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
- and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto them, Let us buildבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
- with you: for we seekדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875
- your Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- and we do sacrificeזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
- unto him since the daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- of Esar–haddonאֵסַר־חַדּוֹן'êsar-chaddôn · EsarhaddonH634
- kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Assurאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804
- which brought us up hitherעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: establishH5927
Cross-references for Ezra 4:2
- Ezra 1:5Then the leaders of the families of Judah and Benjamin prepared to return to Jerusalem. The priests and the Levites also prepared to go. God had put a thought in the minds of all those people that they should go. So they prepared everything that they needed to go and build the Lord's temple in Jerusalem.
- Ezra 2:2Their leaders were Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum and Baanah. This is the number of Israelite men from each clan:
- Ezra 3:2Jozadak's son, Jeshua, and some of the other priests in his family began to build the altar of Israel's God. Shealtiel's son, Zerubbabel, and some of his family also began to build it. They wanted to make burnt offerings on it. God's servant, Moses, had written about this in the law.
- Proverbs 26:23When a hypocrite says nice words, that is like a cheap pot with silver paint.
- 2 Corinthians 11:13Those people are false apostles. They do not work in an honest way. They try to make people think that Christ has sent them as his apostles.
- Galatians 2:4But some men did want us to obey all the Jewish rules. Those men came secretly among our group. They said that they were believers, but they were not really true believers. They wanted to see how we lived as believers. They wanted to know how Christ Jesus has made us free from the Jewish rules. They wanted to make us slaves to those rules.
- 2 Timothy 3:8These are people who speak against God's true message, in the same way that Jannes and Jambres spoke against Moses. Their minds have become confused. The way that they serve God is false.
- 2 Peter 2:1Many years ago, there were false prophets among God's people. They did not speak God's true messages. In the same way, there will also be false teachers among you. They will come among you and they will teach you things that are not true. Their wrong ideas will deceive people. Those false teachers will even speak against the Master, who paid the price for their sins. As a result, they will bring trouble on themselves that quickly destroys them.
- 2 Kings 17:24The king of Assyria brought foreign people to live in the towns of Samaria. They came from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim. They lived in places in Samaria where the Israelites had lived. They took Samaria for themselves and they lived in its towns.
- Ezra 4:10It also comes from people of other nations who came to live in Samaria's cities. The great King Ashurbanipal sent those people to live in Samaria and in the region that is on the west side of the River Euphrates.
- 2 Kings 19:37One day, Sennacherib was worshipping his god Nisrok in Nisrok's temple. Two of Sennacherib's sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, went in and they killed him with their swords. Then they ran away to the region of Ararat. Sennacherib's son Esarhaddon now ruled Assyria as king.
- Genesis 10:11From that land he went to Assyria. This is where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir and Calah.
- Psalms 73:8They laugh at people and they say bad things about them. They proudly speak about cruel things that they want to do to people.
- Isaiah 37:37So King Sennacherib of Assyria took his army away. He returned to Assyria and he lived in Nineveh.
- Hosea 14:3Assyria cannot save us. The horses that we ride into war will not keep us safe. We will never again say to the idols that we have made, “You are our gods.” You are kind to children who have no family. So please be kind to us.’
Commentaries on Ezra 4:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Let us build with you - We acknowledge the same God, are solicitous for his glory, and will gladly assist you in this work. But that they came with no friendly intention, the context proves.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Compare 2 Kings 17:24-28 notes. Since the days - Esar-haddon reigned from 681-668 B.C. Thus, the Samaritans speak of what had taken place at least 130 years previously. There appear to have been at least three colonizations of Samaria by the Assyrian kings. The first is mentioned in 2 Kings 17:24. Later in his reign Sargon added to these first settlers an Arabian element. Some 30 or 40 years afterward, Esarhaddon, his grandson, largely augmented the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2King Esarhaddon of Assyria, who ruled from 680 to 669 BC, deported the people of Israel to foreign lands. He relocated other conquered peoples to Israel during King Manasseh's reign in Judah. These foreigners learned about the Lord when they arrived in Israel, but they also continued to worship their old gods (2 Kings 17:27–34, 40–41).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esar-haddon ... which brought us up hither--A very interesting explanation of this passage has been recently obtained from the Assyrian sculptures. On a large cylinder, deposited in the British Museum, there is inscribed a long and perfect copy of the annals of Esar-haddon, in which the details are given of a large deportation of Israelites from Palestine, and a consequent…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezra 4:2
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
EasyEnglish Bible 2018 — Copyright © MissionAssist 2018
Commentaries