New English Translation
Ezra 6:4
4with three layers of large stones and one layer of timber. The expense is to be subsidized by the royal treasury.
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
2A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana which is in the province of Media, and it was inscribed as follows: “Memorandum: 3In the first year of his reign, King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: ‘Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place. Its height is to be ninety feet and its width ninety feet, with three layers of large stones and one layer of timber. The expense is to be subsidized by the royal treasury. 5Furthermore let the gold and silver vessels of the temple of God, which Nebuchadnezzar brought from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, be returned and brought to their proper place in the temple in Jerusalem. Let them be deposited in the temple of God.’ 6“Now Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar Bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials of Trans-Euphrates – all of you stay far away from there!
Read all of Ezra 6Ezra 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 6:36He built the inner courtyard with three rows of chiseled stones and a row of cedar beams.
- Ezra 7:20The rest of the needs for the temple of your God that you may have to supply, you may do so from the royal treasury.
- Psalms 68:29as you come out of your temple in Jerusalem! Kings bring tribute to you.
- Psalms 72:10The kings of Tarshish and the coastlands will offer gifts; the kings of Sheba and Seba will bring tribute.
- Isaiah 49:23Kings will be your children’s guardians; their princesses will nurse your children. With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you and they will lick the dirt on your feet. Then you will recognize that I am the Lord; those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame.
- Isaiah 60:6Camel caravans will cover your roads, young camels from Midian and Ephah. All the merchants of Sheba will come, bringing gold and incense and singing praises to the Lord.
- Revelation 12:16but the earth came to her rescue; the ground opened up and swallowed the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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