Ezra 4:11

Good News Translation

This is the text of the letter: "To Emperor Artaxerxes from his servants who live in West-of-Euphrates.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
This is the text of the letter they sent to him:

Hebrew Names Version
This is the copy of the letter that they sent to Artachshasta the king: Your servants the men beyond the River, and so forth.

King James Version
This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king; Thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time.

English Standard Version
(This is a copy of the letter that they sent.) "To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now

New Century Version
(This is a copy of the letter they sent to Artaxerxes.) To King Artaxerxes. From your servants who live in Trans-Euphrates.

New English Translation
(This is a copy of the letter they sent to him:) "To King Artaxerxes, from your servants in Trans-Euphrates:

Amplified Bible
this is a copy of the letter which they sent to him: "To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men in the region west of the [Euphrates] River; and now:

New American Standard Bible
this is a copy of the letter which they sent to him: "To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the men of the region beyond the Euphrates River; and now

World English Bible
This is the copy of the letter that they sent to Artaxerxes the king: Your servants the men beyond the River, and so forth.

Geneva Bible (1587)
This is the copie of the letter that they sent vnto King Artahshashte, Thy servants the men beyond the Riuer & Cheeneth, salute thee.

Legacy Standard Bible
this is the copy of the letter which they sent to him: "To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the men in the region beyond the River, and now—

Berean Standard Bible
(This is the text of the letter they sent to him.) To King Artaxerxes, From your servants, the men west of the Euphrates:

Contemporary English Version
This letter said: Your Majesty King Artaxerxes, we are your servants from everywhere in Western Province, and we send you our greetings.

Complete Jewish Bible
(This is the text of the letter they sent him.) "To Artach'shashta the king from his servants the people beyond the River:

Darby Translation
This is the copy of the letter that they sent to him: To Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants the men on this side the river, and so forth.

Easy-to-Read Version
This is the copy of the letter sent to King Artaxerxes: From your servants living in the area west of the Euphrates River.

George Lamsa Translation
This is the copy of the letter that they sent to him, even to Artakhshisht the king: Your servants the men on this side of the River, and at such a time.

Lexham English Bible
this is the copy of the letter which they sent to him: "To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River. And now,

Literal Translation
this is the copy of the letter which they sent to him, to Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, and now,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And this is ye summe of the letter that they sent vnto kynge Artaxerses: Thy seruauntes the men on this syde the water and in Canaan.

American Standard Version
This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants the men beyond the River, and so forth.

Bible in Basic English
This is a copy of the letter which they sent to Artaxerxes the king: Your servants living across the river send these words:

Bishop's Bible (1568)
This is the copie of the letter that they sent vnto king Artaxerxes: Thy seruauntes, and the men that are nowe beyond the water, and Cheeneth.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
this is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king--thy servants the men beyond the River--and now

King James Version (1611)
This is the copy of the Letter, that they sent vnto him, euen vnto Artaxerxes the king: Thy seruants on this side the Riuer, and at such a time,

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
This is the purport of the letter, which they sent to him: Thy servants the men beyond the river to king Arthasastha.

English Revised Version
This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto Artaxerxes the king; Thy servants the men beyond the river, and so forth.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
This is the saumplere of the pistle, which thei senten to the kyng. `To Artaxerses, king, thi seruauntis, men `that ben biyende the flood, seyn helthe.

Update Bible Version
This is the copy of the letter that they sent to Artaxerxes the king: Your slaves the men beyond the River, and so forth.

Webster's Bible Translation
This [is] the copy of the letter that they sent to him, [even] to Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants the men on this side of the river, and at such a time.

New King James Version
(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: [fn]

New Living Translation
This is a copy of their letter: "To King Artaxerxes, from your loyal subjects in the province west of the Euphrates River.

New Life Bible
this is what they said in their letter to him: "To King Artaxerxes, your servants, the men in the land on the other side of the River,

New Revised Standard
this is a copy of the letter that they sent): "To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the people of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
This, is a copy of the letter which they sent unto him - unto Artaxerxes the king, - Thy servants, the men Beyond the River and so forth:

Douay-Rheims Bible
(This is the copy of the letter, which they sent to him:) To Artaxerxes the king, thy servants, the men that are on this side of the river, send greeting.

Revised Standard Version
this is a copy of the letter that they Sent--"to Ar-ta-xerx'es the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now

Young's Literal Translation
This [is] a copy of a letter that they have sent unto him, unto Artaxerxes the king: `Thy servants, men beyond the river, and at such a time;

New American Standard Bible (1995)
this is the copy of the letter which they sent to him: "To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the men in the region beyond the River, and now

Contextual Overview

⁶ At the beginning of the reign of Emperor Xerxes, the enemies of the people living in Judah and Jerusalem brought written charges against them. ⁷ Again in the reign of Emperor Artaxerxes of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their associates wrote a letter to the emperor. The letter was written in Aramaic and was to be translated when read. Also Rehum, the governor, and Shimshai, the secretary of the province, wrote the following letter to Emperor Artaxerxes about Jerusalem: "From Rehum, the governor, from Shimshai, secretary of the province, from their associates, the judges, and from all the other officials, who are originally from Erech, Babylon, and Susa in the land of Elam, together with the other peoples whom the great and powerful Ashurbanipal moved from their homes and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in West-of-Euphrates Province." This is the text of the letter: "To Emperor Artaxerxes from his servants who live in West-of-Euphrates. "We want Your Majesty to know that the Jews who came here from your other territories have settled in Jerusalem and are rebuilding that evil and rebellious city. They have begun to rebuild the walls and will soon finish them. Your Majesty, if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, the people will stop paying taxes, and your royal revenues will decrease. Now, because we are under obligation to Your Majesty, we do not want to see this happen, and so we suggest that you order a search to be made in the records your ancestors kept. If you do, you will discover that this city has always been rebellious and that from ancient times it has given trouble to kings and to rulers of provinces. Its people have always been hard to govern. This is why the city was destroyed. We therefore are convinced that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, Your Majesty will no longer be able to control West-of-Euphrates Province." The emperor sent this answer: "To Rehum, the governor, to Shimshai, secretary of the province, and to their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of West-of-Euphrates, greetings. "The letter which you sent has been translated and read to me. I gave orders for an investigation to be made, and it has indeed been found that from ancient times Jerusalem has revolted against royal authority and that it has been full of rebels and troublemakers. Powerful kings have reigned there and have ruled over the entire province of West-of-Euphrates, collecting taxes and revenue. Therefore you are to issue orders that those men are to stop rebuilding the city until I give further commands. Do this at once, so that no more harm may be done to my interests." As soon as this letter from Emperor Artaxerxes was read to Rehum, Shimshai, and their associates, they hurried to Jerusalem and forced the Jews to stop rebuilding the city. Work on the Temple had been stopped and had remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of Emperor Darius of Persia. ⁸ Again in the reign of Emperor Artaxerxes of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their associates wrote a letter to the emperor. The letter was written in Aramaic and was to be translated when read. Also Rehum, the governor, and Shimshai, the secretary of the province, wrote the following letter to Emperor Artaxerxes about Jerusalem: ⁹ "From Rehum, the governor, from Shimshai, secretary of the province, from their associates, the judges, and from all the other officials, who are originally from Erech, Babylon, and Susa in the land of Elam, ¹⁰ together with the other peoples whom the great and powerful Ashurbanipal moved from their homes and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in West-of-Euphrates Province." ¹¹ This is the text of the letter: "To Emperor Artaxerxes from his servants who live in West-of-Euphrates. ¹² "We want Your Majesty to know that the Jews who came here from your other territories have settled in Jerusalem and are rebuilding that evil and rebellious city. They have begun to rebuild the walls and will soon finish them. ¹³ Your Majesty, if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, the people will stop paying taxes, and your royal revenues will decrease. ¹⁴ Now, because we are under obligation to Your Majesty, we do not want to see this happen, and so we suggest ¹⁵ that you order a search to be made in the records your ancestors kept. If you do, you will discover that this city has always been rebellious and that from ancient times it has given trouble to kings and to rulers of provinces. Its people have always been hard to govern. This is why the city was destroyed.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 21:8 - she wrote Ezra 3:3 - for fear Ezra 4:10 - at such a time Ezra 4:17 - at such a time Ezra 5:6 - copy Ezra 7:11 - the copy Ezra 7:12 - unto Ezra

Cross-References

Genesis 3:14
Then the Lord God said to the snake, "You will be punished for this; you alone of all the animals must bear this curse: From now on you will crawl on your belly, and you will have to eat dust as long as you live.

Genesis 4:14
You are driving me off the land and away from your presence. I will be a homeless wanderer on the earth, and anyone who finds me will kill me."

Genesis 4:15
But the Lord answered, "No. If anyone kills you, seven lives will be taken in revenge." So the Lord put a mark on Cain to warn anyone who met him not to kill him.

Genesis 4:16
And Cain went away from the Lord 's presence and lived in a land called "Wandering," which is east of Eden.

Genesis 4:19
Lamech had two wives, Adah and Zillah.

Genesis 4:20
Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the ancestor of those who raise livestock and live in tents.

Genesis 4:21
His brother was Jubal, the ancestor of all musicians who play the harp and the flute.

Genesis 4:26
Seth had a son whom he named Enosh. It was then that people began using the Lord 's holy name in worship.

Job 16:18
O Earth, don't hide the wrongs done to me! Don't let my call for justice be silenced!

Isaiah 26:21
The Lord is coming from his heavenly dwelling place to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The murders that were secretly committed on the earth will be revealed, and the ground will no longer hide those who have been killed.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

This is the copy of the letter they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king,.... Which Ezra brought with him from Babylon, and is contained in the five following verses:

thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time; this was the inscription of the letter, or the beginning of it.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 11. And at such a time. — The word וכענת ucheeneth has greatly perplexed all commentators and critics. The versions give us no light; and the Vulgate translates it et dicunt salutem, "and they wish prosperity." Some translate it and so forth; and our translators supposed that it referred to the date, which however is not specified, and might have been as easily entered as the words and at such a time.

In our first translation of the Bible, that by Coverdale, in 1535, the passage stands thus: "And other on this syde the water, and in Canaan."

In that by Becke, 1549, it is thus: "And other on this syde the water, and in Ceneeth:" and in the margin he enters "or peace," "or health."

In Cardmarden's Bible, printed at Rouen, 1566, it stands thus: "And other that are nowe on thys syde the water."

In that printed by Barker, 1615, we find the text thus: "AND OTHER that are beyond the river, and Cheeneth;" on which is the following marginal note: "To wit, Euphrates: and he meaneth in respect of Babel, that they dwelt beyond it." And the note on Cheeneth is, "Which were a certain people that envied the Jews." All this is merely guessing, in the midst of obscurity; most of these having considered the original word כענת Ceeneth as the name of a people; and in this they follow the Syriac, which uses the word Acaneth.

Calmet thinks we should read ובעת ubaeth, "and at this time; " as if they had said, "We wish thee to enjoy the same health and prosperity at all future times, which thou dost at present." This is not remote from the meaning of the Chaldee original.