Ezra 6:22

Ezra 6:22 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the Lord had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
• New International Version (NIV)For seven days they celebrated with joy the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for the Lord made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Context of Ezra 6:22

20The priests and Levites had all made themselves clean for their special work. The Levites killed the lambs for the Passover sacrifice. They did that on behalf of all the people, the priests and themselves. 21So all the people who had returned from Babylon ate the feast. Other Israelites in Jerusalem had turned away from the bad things that other nations who lived there did. They had decided to worship the Lord, Israel's God. So they also ate the feast. Then they ate the Feast of Flat Bread for seven days. The Lord had caused them to be very happy, because the king of Assyria had helped them. The Lord had made the king think in a different way about the Jews in Jerusalem. He had decided to help them to build the God of Israel's temple.

Ezra 6:22 word by word

וַיַּֽעֲשׂ֧וּ חַג־מַצּ֛וֹת שִׁבְעַ֥ת יָמִ֖ים בְּשִׂמְחָ֑ה כִּ֣י׀ שִׂמְּחָ֣ם יְהוָ֗ה וְֽהֵסֵ֞ב לֵ֤ב מֶֽלֶךְ־אַשּׁוּר֙ עֲלֵיהֶ֔ם לְחַזֵּ֣ק יְדֵיהֶ֔ם בִּמְלֶ֥אכֶת בֵּית־הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And keptעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• the feastחַגchag châg · feastH2282
• of unleavened breadמַצָּהmatstsâh · unleavened breadH4682
• sevenשֶׁ֫בַעsheba‛ shib‛âh · sevenH7651
• daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• with joyשִׂמְחָהώimchâh · joyH8057
• for the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• had made them joyfulשָׂמַחώâmach · to rejoiceH8055
• and turnedסָבַבsâbab · to turn: turnH5437
• the heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• of the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Assyriaאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804
• unto them, to strengthenחָזַקchâzaq · to strengthen: strengthenH2388
• their handsיָדyâd · hand: themselvesH3027
• in the workמְלָאכָהmelâ'kâh · workH4399
• of the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: templeH1004
• of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478

Cross-references for Ezra 6:22

• Exodus 12:15For seven days, you must eat flat bread that has no yeast in it. On the first day of the Passover festival, you must take all the yeast out of your houses. During those seven days, if anyone eats bread with yeast in it, he will no longer belong to my people, the Israelites.
• Exodus 13:6For seven days you must eat bread without yeast in it. Then on the seventh day you must have a festival for the Lord.
• 2 Chronicles 30:21The Israelites who were in Jerusalem enjoyed the Festival of Flat Bread for seven days. They were very happy. Every day, the Levites and the priests made loud music to praise the Lord.
• 2 Chronicles 35:17Some Israelite people were also there in Jerusalem for the Passover festival at that time. They also stayed seven more days for the festival of Flat Bread.
• Matthew 26:17The first day of the festival when the Jews eat flat bread arrived. Jesus' disciples came to him and they asked him, ‘Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you to eat?’
• 1 Corinthians 5:7The yeast in the flour is like one person who does wrong things. You must remove this old yeast from among you. Then you will be like a new loaf of bread. You are really like a loaf which has no yeast in it. You are pure, because Christ died as a sacrifice on our behalf. He is like the lamb that the Israelites killed for their Passover meal.
• Ezra 7:27I praise the Lord, the God that our ancestors worshipped. He has caused the king to give honour to him. He made the king decide to make the Lord's temple in Jerusalem very great.
• Proverbs 16:7If you live in a way that pleases the Lord, even your enemies will become your friends.
• Proverbs 21:1The Lord controls the things that a king decides to do. He can change the king's thoughts, like the direction of a stream.
• John 19:11Jesus answered, ‘You could have no power against me unless God had given it to you. So the man who sold me to you has done a worse thing than you have done.’
• Ezra 6:6So listen to me, Tattenai, my ruler of the region on the west side of the Euphrates river. You, Shethar-Bozenai and your other officers in that region must all stay away from the temple!
• Ezra 1:1In the first year that Cyrus, king of Persia, was ruling Babylon, the Lord put a thought in his mind. King Cyrus decided to send a message to everybody who lived in his kingdom. His message would cause what God had already spoken to his prophet Jeremiah to become true. The message was written down and people took it all over Cyrus's kingdom. It said:
• 2 Kings 23:29While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Necho, the king of Egypt, took his army up to the River Euphrates. He went there to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah took his army to fight against Pharaoh Necho. But Necho killed Josiah in a battle at Megiddo.
• 2 Chronicles 33:11So the Lord brought the officers of the king of Assyria's army to attack them. They took hold of Manasseh. They put metal hooks in his nose and they tied bronze chains around him. Then they took him away to Babylon.
• Zechariah 10:10I will bring my people back from Egypt, and I will bring them here together from Assyria. I will bring them to Gilead and to Lebanon. There will not be enough room for them all.

Commentaries on Ezra 6:22

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22Turned the heart of the king of Assyria - I am of Calmet's mind, that king of Assyria is here put for king of Persia. Cyrus and his successors possessed all the rights and estates of the ancient kings of Assyria, and therefore the same monarch may be styled king of Assyria as well as king of Persia. Darius had a very high character, as a wise, just, and merciful prince. To strengthen his title to the crown, he married two of the daughters of Cyrus, and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22The king of Assyria - i. e., Darius. Assyria had so long been the great monarchy of western Asia that the sacred writers continue the title to those who had inherited the old Assyrian power, as first to the Babylonians 2 Kings 23:29, and secondly to the Persians. With similar inexactness we find Herodotus calling Cyrus “king of the Medes.”Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-22Verses 13-22 The gospel church, that spiritual temple, is long in the building, but it will be finished at last, when the mystical body is completed. Every believer is a living temple, building up himself in his most holy faith: much opposition is given to this work by Satan and our own corruptions. We trifle, and proceed in it with many stops and pauses; but He that has begun the good work, will see it performed. Then spirits of just men will be made…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22Passover marked the start of the seven-day Festival of Unleavened Bread (see Exodus 12:15–20; Leviticus 23:6–8). This festival celebrated the unleavened bread eaten when Israel left Egypt. the LORD had made: Although Darius I ruled a large empire, God guided him to help rebuild the temple of God.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2222. kept the feast ... with joy: for the Lord ... turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them--that is, king of the Persian empire, which now included the possessions, and had surpassed the glory, of Assyria. The favorable disposition which Darius had evinced towards the Jews secured them peace and prosperity and the privileges of their own religion during the rest of his reign. The religious joy that so remarkably characterized the celebration of…Read the comment

Topics related to Ezra 6:22

• Feasts
• Fellowship
• Heart
• Joy
• Liberality

In the dictionaries

• Assyria
• God
• Israel
• Assyria, Assyrian, Assyrian Empire
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• House of God
• unleavened bread
• Pentateuch

Commentaries on Ezra 6

• 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