Ezra 4:23
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.
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Referenced Verses
- Ezra 4:8-9 : 8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter concerning Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows: 9 From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues– the judges, the rulers, the officials, the secretaries, the Erechites, the Babylonians, the people of Susa(that is, the Elamites),
- Ezra 4:17 : 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!
- Prov 4:16 : 16 For they cannot sleep unless they cause harm; they are robbed of sleep until they make someone stumble.
- Mic 2:1 : 1 Land Robbers Will Lose Their Land Beware wicked schemers, those who devise calamity as they lie in bed. As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, because they have the power to do so.
- Rom 3:15 : 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
Similar Verses (AI)
These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.
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24So 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.
- Ezra 4:3-1311 verses82%
3But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them,“You have no right to help us build the temple of our God. We will build it by ourselves for the LORD God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.”
4Then the local people began to discourage the people of Judah and to dishearten them from building.
5They were hiring advisers to oppose them, so as to frustrate their plans, throughout the time of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius of Persia.
6Official Complaints Are Lodged Against the Jews At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus they filed an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
7And during the reign of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their colleagues wrote to King Artaxerxes of Persia. This letter was first written in Aramaic but then translated.[Aramaic:]
8Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter concerning Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:
9From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues– the judges, the rulers, the officials, the secretaries, the Erechites, the Babylonians, the people of Susa(that is, the Elamites),
10and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and other places in Trans-Euphrates.
11(This is a copy of the letter they sent to him:)“To King Artaxerxes, from your servants in Trans-Euphrates:
12Now let the king be aware that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and odious city. They are completing its walls and repairing its foundations.
13Let the king also be aware that if this city is built and its walls are completed, no more tax, custom, or toll will be paid, and the royal treasury will suffer loss.
- Ezra 4:21-222 verses80%
21Now give orders that these men cease their work and that this city not be rebuilt until such time as I so instruct.
22Exercise appropriate caution so that there is no negligence in this matter. Why should danger increase to the point that kings sustain damage?”
- Ezra 5:3-64 verses77%
3At that time Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues came to them and asked,“Who gave you authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?”
4They also asked them,“What are the names of the men who are building this edifice?”
5But God was watching over the elders of Judah, and they were not stopped until a report could be dispatched to Darius and a letter could be sent back concerning this.
6This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and his colleagues who were the officials of Trans-Euphrates sent to King Darius.
- Ezra 6:12-143 verses76%
12May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation who reaches out to cause such change so as to destroy this temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have given orders. Let them be carried out with precision!”
13The Temple Is Finally Dedicated Then Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues acted accordingly– with precision, just as Darius the king had given instructions.
14The elders of the Jews continued building and prospering, while at the same time Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo continued prophesying. They built and brought it to completion by the command of the God of Israel and by the command of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
- Ezra 4:15-184 verses76%
15so that he may initiate a search of the records of his predecessors and discover in those records that this city is rebellious and injurious to both kings and provinces, producing internal revolts from long ago. It is for this very reason that this city was destroyed.
16We therefore are informing the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, you will not retain control of this portion of Trans-Euphrates.”
17The 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!
18The letter you sent to us has been translated and read in my presence.
- Neh 4:6-83 verses75%
6So we rebuilt the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height. The people were enthusiastic in their work.
7(4:1) When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod heard that the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem had moved ahead and that the breaches had begun to be closed, they were very angry.
8All of them conspired together to move with armed forces against Jerusalem and to create a disturbance in it.
- Ezra 6:6-83 verses75%
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!
7Leave the work on this temple of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this temple of God in its proper place.
8“I also hereby issue orders as to what you are to do with those elders of the Jews in order to rebuild this temple of God. From the royal treasury, from the taxes of Trans-Euphrates the complete costs are to be given to these men, so that there may be no interruption of the work.
- Neh 4:11-122 verses74%
11Our adversaries also boasted,“Before they are aware or anticipate anything, we will come in among them and kill them, and we will bring this work to a halt!”
12So it happened that the Jews who were living near them came and warned us repeatedly about all the schemes they were plotting against us.
- Neh 4:15-162 verses74%
15It so happened that when our adversaries heard that we were aware of these matters, God frustrated their intentions. Then all of us returned to the wall, each to his own work.
16From that day forward, half of my men were doing the work and half of them were taking up spears, shields, bows, and body armor. Now the officers were behind all the people of Judah
- Ezra 5:8-92 verses74%
8Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great God. It is being built with large stones, and timbers are being placed in the walls. This work is being done with all diligence and is prospering in their hands.
9We inquired of those elders, asking them,‘Who gave you the authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?’
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1Opposition to the Building Efforts When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin learned that the former exiles were building a temple for the LORD God of Israel,
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9All of them were wanting to scare us, supposing,“Their hands will grow slack from the work, and it won’t get done.” So now, strengthen my hands!
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19But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard all this, they derided us and expressed contempt toward us. They said,“What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
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23So the Jews committed themselves to continue what they had begun to do and to what Mordecai had written to them.
- Neh 4:1-22 verses71%
1Opposition to the Work Continues(3:33) Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall he became angry and was quite upset. He derided the Jews,
2and in the presence of his colleagues and the army of Samaria he said,“What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they be left to themselves? Will they again offer sacrifice? Will they finish this in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones to life again from piles of dust?”
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16When all our enemies heard and all the nations who were around us saw this, they were greatly disheartened. They knew that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.
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8In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak initiated the work, along with the rest of their associates, the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed the Levites who were at least twenty years old to take charge of the work on the LORD’s temple.
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6Written in it were the following words:“Among the nations it is rumored(and Geshem has substantiated this) that you and the Jews have intentions of revolting, and for this reason you are building the wall. Furthermore, according to these rumors you are going to become their king.
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21“I, King Artaxerxes, hereby issue orders to all the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates, that you precisely execute all that Ezra the priestly scribe of the law of the God of heaven may request of you–
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13They worked hard and made the repairs. They followed the measurements specified for God’s temple and restored it.
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17“Now if the king is so inclined, let a search be conducted in the royal archives there in Babylon in order to determine whether King Cyrus did in fact issue orders for this temple of God to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us a decision concerning this matter.”