Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezra 4:17

Clarke's Commentary

Verse 17. Peace, and at such a time — The word וכעת ucheeth is like that which we have already considered on Ezra 4:10, and probably has the same meaning.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Opposition stops the work (4:1-24)

As a result of Assyria’s resettlement program of two centuries earlier, a race of people grew up in the area around Samaria and Jerusalem who were of mixed blood and mixed religion. They were known as Samaritans (see notes on 2 Kings 17:24-33). The Jewish leaders refused their offered help in building the temple of God, no doubt to prevent wrong ideas from corrupting Israel’s religion. The Samaritan group reacted bitterly. They opposed the Jewish builders so fiercely that soon work on the temple stopped completely (4:1-5,24).

Two examples show the kind of opposition that Israel suffered. These stories do not belong to the time of Zerubbabel. They are taken from official documents of a later period, and in fact are written in a different language from the rest of the book. The writer puts them into his account at this point to give the reader an idea of how Israel was unjustly persecuted.

The first example is taken from the reign of Ahasuerus, also known as Xerxes I (6). (This king later showed favour to the Jews, as the book of Esther shows). The second belongs to the reign of Artaxerxes I. By that time the temple had long been completed and the Jews were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Their Samaritan opponents wrote to Artaxerxes, accusing the Jews of fortifying Jerusalem in preparation for a rebellion against Persia (7-16). The king therefore commanded that the work cease immediately, though he reserved the right to reverse his decree at a later date if he so desired (17-23). (We learn from Nehemiah 2:1-8 that later this king did, in fact, reverse his decree and give his support to the Jews.)

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

SAMARITAN OPPOSITION CONTINUED UNTIL 446 B.C.

“And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabel, and the rest of his companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letters was written in the Syrian character, and set forth in the Syrian tongue. Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort: 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 Shushanchites, the Dehaites, the Elamites, and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar brought over, and set in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the country beyond the River, and so forth. “This is the copy of the the letter they sent to Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants, the men beyond the River, and so forth. Be it known unto the king, that the Jews that came up from thee are come to us unto Jerusalem; they are building the rebellious and the bad city, and have finished the walls, and repaired the foundations. Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and in the end it will be hurtful unto the kings. Now because we eat the salt of the palace, and it is not meet for us to see the king’s dishonor, therefore have we sent and certified the king: that search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time; for which cause was this city laid waste. We certify the king that, if this city be builded, and the walls finished, thou shalt have no portion beyond the River. “Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and in the rest of the country beyond the River: Peace, and so forth. The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me. And I decreed, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein. There have been mighty kings also over Jeruslaem, who have ruled over all the country beyond the River; and tribute, custom, and toll was paid unto them. Make ye now a decree to cause these men to cease, and that the city be not builded, until a decree shall be made by me. And take heed that ye be not slack herein: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? “Then when the copy of king Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews and made them to cease by force and power.”

Here is the end of the long parenthesis. Note that this letter to Artaxerxes was followed promptly by his decree to shut down the building of Jerusalem (not the house of God; that had been finished long ago). “We must date this decree in 446 B.C.; and it was the news of this disaster which so shocked Nehemiah and forced him into mourning and prayers (Nehemiah 1:3-4).”Ibid. 427. From this it is clear that the Samaritan opposition lasted from 535 B.C. to 446 B.C., a period of at least 89 years.

“Cause these men to cease… until a decree shall be made by me” This was a very important line in the letter, because, according to the foolish tradition of Persian kings, “Their laws of the Medes and the Persians could not be altered.” Artaxerxes, here, very wisely left the door open either for himself or a successor to change his mind and let the building of Jerusalem continue.

Having disposed of this long parenthesis in which he spelled out the Samaritan opposition, the author of Ezra at once resumed the narrative regarding the building of the temple, which had been delayed because of the Samaritan opposition, and as we learn from the Minor Prophets, because of the indifference of God’s people themselves. Thus, between Ezra 4:23 and Ezra 4:24 there is a retrogression in time from 446 B.C. to 520 B.C., which was the second year of Darius I. Thus, he leaps backwards in the narrative some 74 years!

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 4

And when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity [had built the towers,] started to build the temple of the Lord unto the LORD God of Israel; they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and they said, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as you do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon the king of Assur, which brought us up hither. But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, You don't have anything to do with us to build a house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us. Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building ( Ezra 4:1-4 ),

Now when the northern kingdom was destroyed by Assyria, the Assyrian king took the people of the northern kingdom and scattered them throughout the world, and they had brought other people that they had conquered and settled them in the land of the northern kingdom. Became known as Samaria. But that was the capital city. And the people ultimately became known as the Samaritans. Now when they came into the land, the wild animals began to turn against the people, and many of them were devoured. And they came to the king and they said, "Hey, we can't get along with the gods of the land. The animals are turning against us. So send us some priests that they may teach us how to worship in order that we might worship these gods of the land so that these wild animals won't be eating our kids and all."

So the king of Assyria found some priests and they brought them to these people who the priests taught them the worship of God. And so they feared Jehovah, but they worshipped their own gods. In other words, He was just made a part of their whole total worship program, but it wasn't a true worship of Jehovah, nor were they truly descendants of Abraham or Israel. So they did, however, as a part of their total worship, worship Jehovah, even as they were taught, they did have the sacrifices; they did offer the sacrifices and all because the priest taught them the burnt offerings, the peace offerings and these things, so they did do that. And so when these fellows came and were going to build their temple, they said, "Hey, we'd like to help you because we worship your God, too." But they worship God as a mixture, with a lot of other gods. And so Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the chief men decided that they didn't want their help.

Now it would be great if the church would maintain that same attitude today. We don't need the help of the world in doing the work of God. But not all churches see it that way, and many are trying to conscript Satan to come help them in their building programs or whatever. But God doesn't need any help in accomplishing His program, especially from those who are not true servants of God. And I feel that it is wrong to go to worldly people to try to conscript aid for the work of God.

They refused to accept their help. Now these are the same people that in the time of Christ were called the Samaritans. And the Jews would not have any dealings, even after they returned, they would not have any dealings four hundred years later when Christ came, they still would not have any dealings with the Samaritans. And you remember when Jesus met the woman of Samaria at the well and said, "Would you give me a drink of water?" She said, "How come you're asking me for a drink? You're a Jew, I'm a Samaritan. The Jews don't have dealings with the Samaritans."

It is true the Jews would usually, when they were coming to the feast from Galilee, go clear on down to the Jordan River and come all the way along the Jordan River and then come up from Jericho rather than take the shorter route directly through Samaria, because they just didn't like to be around the Samaritans. There was a lot of bad blood between the two.

Now the Holy Spirit came upon the church, and in one of the early persecutions, the church was sort of scattered, and Jesus had said to His disciples, "When the Holy Ghost comes upon you, you shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in Judaea, and in Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." So in the persecution, as the church was scattered, Philip went up to Samaria and began to preach Christ to the Samaritans. And many believed and were baptized when they saw the miracles that were wrought through the hands of Philip.

Now when the church in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had also received the Gospel, they sent unto them Peter and John for as yet the Holy Spirit had not come upon them. And when they came, they laid hands on them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. And that's when Simon said, "Hey, I'd like to buy this power that whoever I lay my hands on they would receive, too." And Peter said, "Your money perish with you because you think that the gifts of God can be bought with money." And told him to pray that God would forgive him the bitterness, the gall that was in his heart.

So the Samaritans received the Gospel, a great revival. Now at the present time there are still about two hundred Samaritans still living. They're almost extinct. There's only about two hundred of them living today. They still live in the area of Nablus, which is at the, in the valley at the base of mount Ebal and mount Gerizim. And they still believe that mount Gerizim is the place where God should be worshipped. You remember the woman by the well said to Jesus, when she realized that He was a prophet, "Sir, I perceive that you're a prophet, our fathers say that we are to worship God in this mountain, Gerizim," right above them there, for they were at Shechem which is the present-day Nablus( John 4:19-20 ), in that area. "Our fathers tell us we're to worship God in this mountain, Gerizim. You say in Jerusalem. Where is God to be worshipped?"

And so they still today have an annual Passover sacrifice, and they sacrifice a lamb at the top of mount Gerizim still to the present time. They are called the Samaritans, as I said there are only about two hundred of them left and they are pretty much imbecilic. They're pretty much imbeciles now because of the close cross breeding. They won't marry outside, and so their numbers continue to reduce. And they have just a lot of idiocy among them because of this cross, close cross breeding. But they still exist, which is about two hundred Samaritans left.

So these were the people that came to Jeshua and Zerubbabel and they said, "Hey, we will help you because we worship your gods, too. We'll help you build this temple." And they consulted together and they said, "Nope, we don't want your help." Well, their help being spurned, then they turned against them and did their best to defeat their purposes of rebuilding. They started really hassling them and hindering in every opportunity.

So they hired attorneys, to frustrate their purposes ( Ezra 4:5 ),

To file injunctions, to get the court to file injunctions. Make them have an EIR report and all this kind of junk, you know, to just frustrate their building efforts. I'm sure that no matter what they did, they couldn't foul things up as much as things can be fouled up with our present governmental systems today. If you want to build anything, it is just unreal what they make you go through. We are, we are just governmentalized to death. It seems to be the government's purpose to put everybody out of business and to make everybody dependent on the government. That sounds good, but then who's going to pay the bills? If the government makes, try and be independent, so difficult, more and more ordinances, OSHAs and everything else to come and harass you. I'll tell you, they couldn't harass them nearly as much as the government harasses building projects today. It's a... Some of you may be government employees and... But oh, the bureaucracy today is something horrible. We're just going to sink under bureaucrats.

So they sought to frustrate the purposes.

all of the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the time that Darius took over the throne. So in the reign of Ahasuerus [who is the Cambyses of secular history], at the beginning of his reign, they wrote to him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. And in the days of Ahasuerus Artaxerxes [who is also Ahasuerus the previous verse, Cambesis( Ezra 4:6 ) of the secular history] they wrote him a letter in the Syrian tongue. And they said, Artaxerxes the king; Thy servants the men on this side of the river, and at such a time. Be it known to the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come to Jerusalem, and they are building the rebellious and bad city, they have set up the walls, and they've joined the foundations. Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city is built, and the walls are set up again, then they will not pay their toll, or their taxes, or customs, so that you will be endangered in receiving revenue. Now because we have maintenance from the king's palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore we have sent and certified to the king these things; [And we suggest] That you search the book of records: and you will find in the book of records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same in old times: for this cause this city was destroyed. We certify the king that, if this city be built again, and the walls are set up, by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side of the river. Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and unto the rest beyond the river, Peace, and at such a time. The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me. And I have commanded, and a search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein. There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all the countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them. Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not built, until another commandment shall be given from me. Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and to his companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power. Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia ( Ezra 4:5-7 , Ezra 4:11-24 ).

So during the time of Cambesis(???), the Artaxerxes, the work was stopped. The period of perhaps ten years or so. They have started, they laid the foundation, they were building, and they got this order to cease and desist. So they stopped the building, and in stopping the building, they got then involved in their own houses, and fixing up their own places. And they started fixing up their houses very nicely, just forgot and left desolate the house of the Lord. And so if you will read Haggai, chapter one, he is crying out against the people for their forsaking the house of the Lord. "Is it time for you, O Israel, to dwell in your ceiled houses, while the house of the Lord lies desolate? Behold, take a look at things because you have sowed much, but you're gathering little" ( Haggai 1:4 , Haggai 1:6 ).

It seems like your pockets have holes in them. You can't keep your money. And you're always broke and you never have enough. And the reason is, is that you've been spending everything for yourself and you've just been letting God's house go desolate. And so Haggai is encouraging the people, "Let's get back and let's start building the temple once again." "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Opposition during Artaxerxes’ reign 4:7-23

Artaxerxes was the successor of Ahasuerus (Xerxes), who ruled the Persian Empire from 464 to 424 B.C. [Note: See William H. Shea, "Who Succeeded Xerxes on the Throne of Persia?" Journal of the Adventist Theological Society 12:1 (Spring 2001):83-88, who argued that Darius succeeded Xerxes.] Clearly the incident reported in these verses took place long after the temple was complete. It really involved the attempt by Israel’s enemies to halt the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall in the days of Nehemiah. It evidently took place about 446 B.C. (cf. Ezra 4:21-23; Nehemiah 1:1-3). The writer’s purpose in inserting this incident in the text was evidently to show the continued antagonism of Israel’s enemies and the faithfulness of God in giving the Jews victory over them.

"Near Eastern kings used an elaborate system of informers and spies. Egyptian sources speak of the ’ears and eyes’ of the Pharaoh. Sargon II of Assyria had agents in Urartu whom he ordered, ’Write me whatever you see and hear.’ The efficient Persian intelligence system is described by Xenophon. [Note: Xenophon, Cyropaedia, 8:2:10-12.] The King’s Eye and the King’s Ear were two distinct officials who reported to the monarch. [Note: Cf. J. Balcer, "The Athenian Apiskopos and the Achaemenid ’King’s Eye,’" American Journal of Philology 98 (1977):252-63.] But God’s people could take assurance in their conviction that God’s intelligence system is not only more efficient than any king’s espionage network but is omniscient (cf. 2 Chronicles 16:9; Zechariah 4:10)." [Note: Yamauchi, "Ezra-Nehemiah," p. 629. Cf. A. L. Oppenheim, "The Eyes of the Lord," Journal of the American Oriental Society 88 (1968):173-79.]

The antagonists enlisted the help of local Persian officials, including Rehum and Shimshai (Ezra 4:8), to appeal to Artaxerxes to issue an order stopping work on the walls. The letter was in Aramaic, the common language of the Persian Empire. This is the language in which it appears in the oldest Hebrew texts of Ezra. The writer evidently wrote all of Ezra 4:8 to Ezra 6:18 as well as Ezra 7:12-26 in Aramaic originally. The other Aramaic portions of the Old Testament are two words in Genesis 31:47 (translated "the heap of witness"), Jeremiah 10:11 (a divine announcement of the destruction of idols), and Daniel 2:4 b to Daniel 7:28 (which reports the words of Babylonian astrologers and following words addressed to the kings of the earth). Aramaic was a language well known to all the Jews living in the empire, as well as Gentiles. The writer may have written this entire section of the book in Aramaic to avoid changing back and forth from Hebrew to Aramaic so many times. [Note: Kidner, p. 136.]

"The end of Ezra 4:7 is literally ’and he wrote the letter written in Aramaic and translated in Aramaic.’ . . . This could mean that while the letter had been written in Aramaic, the author’s copy had been translated into Hebrew. [Note: Blenkinsopp, p. 112.] Since the actual letter is not given, however, it more likely would mean that although the letter had been written in Aramaic it was translated into Persian when it was read to the king." [Note: Breneman, p. 101.]

Osnappar (Ezra 4:10) is evidently an Aramaic form of Ashurbanipal (669-ca. 660 B.C.), the Assyrian king who succeeded Esarhaddon. [Note: A. R. Millard, "Assyrian Royal Names in Biblical Hebrew," Journal of Semitic Studies 21:1&2 (1976):11.] The phrase "beyond the river" (Ezra 4:10-11; Ezra 4:16-17; Ezra 4:20) refers to the Persian province that lay to the southwest of the upper Euphrates, namely, the one that encompassed Syria and Palestine.

The Jews mentioned in this letter (Ezra 4:12) would have been those who returned with Ezra in 458 B.C., the second group of Jews to leave Babylon. That group attempted to rebuild the walls of the city, having received permission from Artaxerxes in 458 B.C. to do so (Ezra 7:21).

Israel’s enemies presented three reasons Artaxerxes should withdraw the Jews’ building permit. They warned that the Jews would stop paying taxes when their fortifications were complete (Ezra 4:13), and the consequent decline in revenue would hurt the king’s reputation (Ezra 4:14). Moreover, if the Jews continued to rebuild a city that had a reputation for rebellion, their actions might encourage other peoples in other parts of the empire to revolt (Ezra 4:15-16).

"The historical justification for the claim that Jerusalem is a chronically rebellious city will have consisted in such events as Hezekiah’s withholding of tribute from Assyria (2 Kings 18:7, ca. 724 B.C.) and Zedekiah’s abortive bid for freedom from the Babylonians, which led to the cataclysm of 587 (2 Kings 24:20 ff.). The Assyrian and Babylonian annals were evidently available to the Persian kings. And it is clear that a nerve is touched." [Note: McConville, pp. 28-29.]

In his reply Artaxerxes explained that, having done some research, he had concluded that it seemed to be in his best interests to halt work temporarily. He put an order to stop work into effect only until he could determine a permanent solution to the problem (Ezra 4:21, "until . . ."). About two years later (444 B.C.), Artaxerxes released Nehemiah to go to Jerusalem to finish rebuilding the wall (Nehemiah 2:8). Evidently the king had concluded that, all things considered, it was better to have Jerusalem defended than undefended.

When the Samaritans received Artaxerxes’ reply, they immediately forced the Jews to stop building the wall. They may even have destroyed part of the rebuilt wall and burned the gates (cf. Nehemiah 1:3).

"This was a day of great shame to the Jewish population because their honest endeavor was thwarted by their archenemies, the Samaritans, and it was forced on them by Samaritan soldiers." [Note: Fensham, The Books . . ., p. 76.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe,.... This affair, upon examination, being found to be of importance, the king of Persia thought fit to send an answer to the above letter, which was doing them an honour, and gave them the power and authority they wished to have:

and to the rest of their companions that dwelt in Samaria; in the kingdom, province, and cities of Samaria:

and unto the rest beyond the river; the river Euphrates, the rest of the nations before mentioned, Ezra 4:9.

Peace, and at such a time: that is, all health and prosperity, &c.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      17 Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and unto the rest beyond the river, Peace, and at such a time.   18 The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.   19 And I commanded, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein.   20 There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them.   21 Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me.   22 Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?   23 Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.   24 Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

      Here we have,

      I. The orders which the king of Persia gave, in answer to the information sent him by the Samaritans against the Jews. He suffered himself to be imposed upon by their fraud and falsehood, took no care to examine the allegations of their petition concerning that which the Jews were now doing, but took it for granted that the charge was true, and was very willing to gratify them with an order of council to stay proceedings. 1. He consulted the records concerning Jerusalem, and found that it had indeed rebelled against the king of Babylon, and therefore that it was, as they called it, a bad city (Ezra 4:19; Ezra 4:19), and withal that in times past kings had reigned there, to whom all the countries on that side the river had been tributaries (Ezra 4:20; Ezra 4:20), and that therefore there was danger that if ever they were able (which they were never likely to be) they would claim them again. Thus he says as they said, and pretends to give a reason for so doing. See the hard fate of princes, who must see and hear with other men's eyes and ears, and give judgment upon things as they are represented to them, though often represented falsely. God's judgment is always just because he sees things as they are, and it is according to truth. 2. He appointed these Samaritans to stop the building of the city immediately, till further orders should be given about it, Ezra 4:21; Ezra 4:22. Neither they, in their letter, nor he, in his order, make any mention of the temple, and the building of that, because both they and he knew that they had not only a permission, but a command, from Cyrus to rebuild that, which even these Samaritans had not the confidence to move for the repeal of. They spoke only of the city: "Let not that be built," that is, as a city with walls and gates; "whatever you do, prevent that, lest damage grow to the hurt of the kings:" he would not that the crown should lose by his wearing it.

      II. The use which the enemies of the Jews made of these orders, so fraudulently obtained; upon the receipt of them they went up in haste to Jerusalem,Ezra 4:23; Ezra 4:23. Their feet ran to evil,Proverbs 1:16. They were impatient till the builders were served with this prohibition, which they produced as their warrant to make them cease by force and power. As they abused the king in obtaining this order by their mis-informations, so they abused him in the execution of it; for the order was only to prevent the walling of the city, but, having force and power on their side, they construed it as relating to the temple, for it was that to which they had an ill will, and which they only wanted some colour to hinder the building of. There was indeed a general clause in the order, to cause these men to cease, which had reference to their complaint about building the walls; but they applied it to the building of the temple. See what need we have to pray, not only for kings, but for all in authority under them, and the governors sent by them, because the quietness and peaceableness of our lives, in all godliness and honesty, depend very much upon the integrity and wisdom of inferior magistrates, as well as the supreme. The consequence was that the work of the house of God ceased for a time, through the power and insolence of its enemies; and so, through the coldness and indifference of its friends, it stood still till the second year of Darius Hystaspes, for to me it seems clear by the thread of this sacred history that it was that Darius, Ezra 4:24; Ezra 4:24. Though now a stop was put to it by the violence of the Samaritans, yet that they might soon after have gone on by connivance, if they had had a due affection to the work, appears by this, that before they had that express warrant from the king for doing it (Ezra 6:1-12; Ezra 6:1-12) they were reproved by the prophets for not doing it, Ezra 5:1; Haggai 1:1, compared with Ezra 5:1; Haggai 1:1, c. If they had taken due care to inform Cambyses of the truth of this case, perhaps he would have recalled his order but, for aught I know, some of the builders were almost as willing it should cease as the adversaries themselves were. At some periods the church has suffered more by the coldness of its friends than by the heat of its enemies; but both together commonly make church-work slow work.