Ezra 4:18

The NET Bible®

The letter you sent to us has been translated and read in my presence.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The letter you sent us has been translated and read in my presence.

Hebrew Names Version
The letter which you sent to us has been plainly read before me.

King James Version
The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.

English Standard Version
the letter that you sent to us has been plainly read before me.

New Century Version
The letter you sent to us has been translated and read to me.

Amplified Bible
The document which you sent to us has been translated and read before me.

New American Standard Bible
the document which you sent to us has been translated and read before me.

World English Bible
The letter which you sent to us has been plainly read before me.

Geneva Bible (1587)
The letter which yee sent vnto vs, hath bene openly read before me,

Legacy Standard Bible
the document which you sent to us has been plainly read before me.

Berean Standard Bible
The letter you sent us has been translated and read in my presence.

Contemporary English Version
After your letter was translated and read to me,

Complete Jewish Bible
"The letter you sent us has now been translated for me.

Darby Translation
The letter that ye sent to us has been read before me distinctly.

Easy-to-Read Version
The letter you sent us has been translated and read to me.

George Lamsa Translation
When the letter which you sent to us arrived it was plainly read before me,

Good News Translation
"The letter which you sent has been translated and read to me.

Lexham English Bible
the letter that you sent to us has been translated and read before me.

Literal Translation
the letter which you sent to us has been plainly read before me.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The letter which ye sent vnto vs, hath bene opely red before me,

American Standard Version
The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.

Bible in Basic English
And now the sense of the letter which you sent to us has been made clear to me,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
The letter which ye sent vnto vs, hath ben openly read before me.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
the letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.

King James Version (1611)
The letter, which ye sent vnto vs, hath bene plainly read before me.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
The tribute-gatherer whom ye sent to us, has been called before me.

English Revised Version
The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
The accusyng, which ye senten to vs, was red opynli bifor me;

Update Bible Version
The letter which you sent to us has been plainly read before me.

Webster's Bible Translation
The letter which ye sent to us hath been plainly read before me.

New King James Version
The letter which you sent to us has been clearly read before me.

New Living Translation
"The letter you sent has been translated and read to me.

New Life Bible
The letter you sent to us has been put into our language and read to me.

New Revised Standard
the letter that you sent to us has been read in translation before me.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The letter which ye sent unto us, was distinctly read before me;

Douay-Rheims Bible
The accusation, which you have sent to us, hath been plainly read before me,

Revised Standard Version
the letter which you sent to us has been plainly read before me.

Young's Literal Translation
The letter that ye sent unto us, explained, hath been read before me,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
the document which you sent to us has been translated and read before me.

Contextual Overview

¹⁷ The king sent the following response: "To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and other parts of Trans-Euphrates: Greetings! ¹⁸ The letter you sent to us has been translated and read in my presence. ¹⁹ So I gave orders, and it was determined that this city from long ago has been engaging in insurrection against kings. It has continually engaged in rebellion and revolt. ²⁰ Powerful kings have been over Jerusalem who ruled throughout the entire Trans-Euphrates and who were the beneficiaries of tribute, custom, and toll. ²¹ Now give orders that these men cease their work and that this city not be rebuilt until such time as I so instruct. ²² Exercise appropriate caution so that there is no negligence in this matter. Why should danger increase to the point that kings sustain damage?" ²³ Then, as soon as the copy of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read in the presence of Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues, they proceeded promptly to the Jews in Jerusalem and stopped them with threat of armed force. ²⁴ So the work on the temple of God in Jerusalem came to a halt. It remained halted until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Cross-References

Genesis 5:21
When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah.

Genesis 36:2
Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The letter which ye sent unto us,.... The plural number is used, being now become courtly for kings thus to speak of themselves:

hath been plainly before me; by such that understood both the Syrian and Persian languages; the letter was written in the Syrian language, and the king being a Persian, it was necessary it should be interpreted and explained to him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Hath been ... read - It is doubtful if the Persian monarchs could ordinarily read. At any rate, it was their habit to have documents read to them (compare Esther 6:1). This is still the ordinary practice in Eastern courts.