New King James Version
Ezra 4:9
9From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions—representatives of the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the people of Persia and Erech and Babylon and Shushan, the Dehavites, the Elamites,
Ezra 4:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions; the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites,
- New International Version (NIV)Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, together with the rest of their associates—the judges, officials and administrators over the people from Persia, Uruk and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,
- English Standard Version (ESV)Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites,
- New Living Translation (NLT)They greeted the king for all their colleagues—the judges and local leaders, the people of Tarpel, the Persians, the Babylonians, and the people of Erech and Susa (that is, Elam).
Context of Ezra 4:9
7In the days of Artaxerxes also, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabel, and the rest of their companions wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the letter was written in Aramaic script, and translated into the Aramaic language. 8Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes in this fashion: From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions—representatives of the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the people of Persia and Erech and Babylon and Shushan, the Dehavites, the Elamites, 10and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnapper took captive and settled in the cities of Samaria and the remainder beyond the River —and so forth. 11(This is a copy of the letter that they sent him) To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men of the region beyond the River, and so forth:
Read all of Ezra 4Ezra 4:9 word by word
אֱדַ֜יִן רְח֣וּם בְּעֵל־טְעֵ֗ם וְשִׁמְשַׁי֙ סָֽפְרָ֔א וּשְׁאָ֖ר כְּנָוָתְה֑וֹן דִּ֠ינָיֵא וַאֲפַרְסַתְכָיֵ֞א טַרְפְּלָיֵ֣א אֲפָֽרְסָיֵ֗א אַרְכְּוָיֵ֤א בָבְלָיֵא֙ שֽׁוּשַׁנְכָיֵ֔א דֶּהָיֵ֖א עֵלְמָיֵֽא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thenאֱדַ֫יִן'ĕdayin · thenH116
- Rehumרְחוּםrechûm · RehumH7348
- the chancellorטְעֵםţe‛êm · commandH2942
- the chancellorבְּעֵלbe‛êl · ownerH1169
- and Shimshaiשִׁמְשַׁיshimshay · ShimshaiH8124
- the scribeסָפִרsâphêr · scribeH5613
- and the restשְׁאָרshe'âr · remainderH7606
- of their companionsכְּנָתkenâth · associateH3675
- the Dinaitesדִּינָיֵאdîynay · judgeH1784
- the Apharsathchitesאֲפָֽרְסַתְּכָיֵא'ăpharsekay 'ăpharsathkay · governorsH671
- the Tarpelitesטַרְפְּלָיֵאţarpelay · officialsH2967
- the Apharsitesאֲפָֽרְסָיֵא'ăphâresay · PersiaH670
- the Archevitesאַרְכְּוָיֵא'arkevay · ErechH756
- the Babyloniansבָּֽבְלַיbablîy · BabylonianH896
- the Susanchitesשׁוּשַׁנְכָיֵאshûshankîy · SusaH7801
- the Dehavitesדֵּהָיֵאdahăvâ' · DehaviteH1723
- the Elamitesעֵלְמָיֵא‛almîy · ElamiteH5962
Cross-references for Ezra 4:9
- 2 Kings 17:24Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities.
- Ezra 5:6This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai sent: The governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and his companions, the Persians who were in the region beyond the River, to Darius the king.
- Ezra 6:6Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and your companions the Persians who are beyond the River, keep yourselves far from there.
- Esther 1:2in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the citadel,
- Esther 2:3and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather all the beautiful young virgins to Shushan the citadel, into the women’s quarters, under the custody of Hegai the king’s eunuch, custodian of the women. And let beauty preparations be given them.
- Daniel 8:2I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in Shushan, the citadel, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai.
- Genesis 10:22The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
- Isaiah 21:2A distressing vision is declared to me; The treacherous dealer deals treacherously, And the plunderer plunders. Go up, O Elam! Besiege, O Media! All its sighing I have made to cease.
- Jeremiah 25:25all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes;
- Jeremiah 49:34The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
- Ezekiel 32:24“There is Elam and all her multitude, All around her grave, All of them slain, fallen by the sword, Who have gone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, Who caused their terror in the land of the living; Now they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.
- Acts 2:9Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
Commentaries on Ezra 4:9
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9These verses form the superscription or address of the letter (Ezra 4:11, etc.) sent to Artaxerxes. The Dinaites were probably colonists from Dayan, a country often mentioned in the Assyrian inscriptions as bordering on Cilicia and Cappadocia. No satisfactory explanation can be given of the name Apharsathchites (see Ezra 5:6 note). The Tarpelites were colonists from the nation which the Assyrians called Tuplai, the Greeks “Tibareni,” and the Hebrews…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-24Verses 6-24 It is an old slander, that the prosperity of the church would be hurtful to kings and princes. Nothing can be more false, for true godliness teaches us to honour and obey our sovereign. But where the command of God requires one thing and the law of the land another, we must obey God rather than man, and patiently submit to the consequences. All who love the gospel should avoid all appearance of evil, lest they should encourage the adversaries…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Including greetings from important political figures and local ethnic leaders would strengthen the letter's accusations and give it more political impact. Judges were trusted court officials familiar with Persian laws. Support from people in the Mesopotamian cities of Babylon and Erech, as well as the Persian city of Susa, would make the case against the Jews more convincing.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. the Dinaites--The people named were the colonists sent by the Babylonian monarch to occupy the territory of the ten tribes. "The great and noble Asnappar" was Esar-haddon. Immediately after the murder of Sennacherib, the Babylonians, Medes, Armenians, and other tributary people seized the opportunity of throwing off the Assyrian yoke. But Esar-haddon having, in the thirtieth year of his reign, recovered Babylon and subdued the other rebellious…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezra 4:9
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries