Ezra 6:4

Ezra 6:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king’s house:
• New International Version (NIV)with three courses of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury.
• English Standard Version (ESV)with three layers of great stones and one layer of timber. Let the cost be paid from the royal treasury.
• New King James Version (NKJV)with three rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the expenses be paid from the king’s treasury.

Context of Ezra 6:4

2But it was in the region of Media that they found a scroll about the temple in Jerusalem. It was stored in a strong building in Ecbatana. This is what the scroll said: ‘This is an important note. 3King Cyrus gave a command about God's temple in Jerusalem, in the first year that he ruled in Babylon. He said: “The Jews must build their temple as a place where they can offer sacrifices to their God. They must build it on its foundations. They must make it 30 metres wide and 30 metres high. They must build the walls with three rows of big stones, and then a row of wooden beams. They should take money from the king's palace to pay for the work. 5We will give back to them the silver and gold things that belong in their God's temple. King Nebuchadnezzar took them from the temple in Jerusalem and he brought them here to Babylon. Now they must return to the place where they belong, in God's house in Jerusalem.” 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 6:4 word by word

נִדְבָּכִ֞ין דִּי־אֶ֤בֶן גְּלָל֙ תְּלָתָ֔א וְנִדְבָּ֖ךְ דִּי־אָ֣ע חֲדַ֑ת וְנִ֨פְקְתָ֔א מִן־בֵּ֥ית מַלְכָּ֖א תִּתְיְהִֽב׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• threeתְּלָתtelâth telâthâh telâthâ' · threeH8532
• rowsנִדְבָּךְnidbâk · layerH5073
• of greatגְּלָלgelâl · greatH1560
• stonesאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH69
• of newחֲדַ֑תchădâth · newH2323
• timberאָע'â‛ · woodH636
• and let the expensesנִפְקָאniphqâ' · costH5313
• be givenיְהַבyehab · to giveH3052
• out ofמִן־min · fromH4481
• the king’sמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4430
• houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · houseH1005

Cross-references for Ezra 6:4

• 1 Kings 6:36Solomon also built a yard around the temple building. The wall around the yard had three rows of special stones, then a row of cedar beams, and so on.
• Ezra 7:20You may need other things to worship your God in his temple. You may take what you need from the royal store rooms.
• Psalms 68:29As you live in your temple in Jerusalem, kings will bring gifts to you.
• Psalms 72:10Kings from Spain and from other far places will pay taxes to him. Kings from Sheba and from Seba will bring gifts to him.
• Isaiah 49:23The kings of those nations will take care of your children. The kings' daughters will feed them. The rulers will bend down low in front of you, so that their faces touch the ground. They will taste the dirt by your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I will not disappoint people who wait for me to help them.
• Isaiah 60:6Traders will bring things on their camels so that your roads are full. Young camels will come from Midian and from Ephah. People will come from Sheba. They will bring gold and incense. They will sing aloud to praise the Lord.
• Revelation 12:16But a big hole opened in the ground. The river that poured from the dragon's mouth went down into the hole. That helped the woman to escape.

Commentaries on Ezra 6:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber - We have noticed this kind of building before, three courses of stones, and then a course of strong balk; and this continued to the square of the building. And let the expenses be given - Cyrus had ordered wood to be cut at Libanus, and conveyed to Joppa at his expense; but it does not appear that he furnished the other expenses of the building, for we have already seen that the Jews contributed for the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4The word translated “row” occurs only in this passage. Some regard it as a “course,” and suppose that after every three courses of stone there followed a course of timber. Others understand three “storeys” of stone, with a fourth “storey” of woodwork on the summit (compare 1 Kings 6:5-6). Others consider that Cyrus intended to limit the thickness of the walls, which were not to exceed a breadth of three rows of stone, with an inner wooden wainscotting…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The royal treasury will cover all expenses. It may seem surprising that the Persians would do this, but it was their usual practice. They did the same at Sais and Elephantine in Egypt, and at Ur in Mesopotamia. This generosity aimed to ensure loyalty to Persia.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-121. Darius the king--This was Darius Hystaspes. Great and interesting light has been thrown on the history of this monarch and the transaction of his reign, by the decipherment of the cuneatic inscriptions on the rocks at Behistun. in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon--An idea of the form of this Babylonian register house, as well as the manner of preserving public records within its repositories, can be obtained from the…Read the comment

Topics related to Ezra 6:4

• Church and State
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Rulers
• Temple

In the dictionaries

• Chaldee language
• Cyrus
• House
• Pure
• Temple, the Second
• Aramaic; Aramaic Language
• Bible, the
• Esdras, the First Book of
• Ezra-Nehemiah
• Genealogy

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