Ezra 4:20

_THE LETTER WHICH YE SENT UNTO US HATH BEEN PLAINLY READ BEFORE ME._ No JFB commentary on these verses....

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 of the church. The world is ever ready to believe any accusation against the people of God, and refuses to listen to them. The king suffered himself to be imposed upon by these frauds and falsehoods. Princes see and hear with other men's eyes and ears, and judge things as represented to them, which are often done falsely. But God's judgment is just; he sees things as they are....

Verse 20. _BEYOND THE RIVER_] That is, the Euphrates. Both David and Solomon carried their conquests beyond this river. See 2 Samuel 8:3, c., and 1 Kings 4:21, where it is said, _Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river_ (Euphrates) _unto the land of the Philistines and unto the borders of Egypt_....

MIGHTY KINGS ... - If this reference can scarcely have been to David or Solomon (see marginal reference), of whom neither the Babylonian nor the Assyrian archives would be likely to have had any account - it would probably be to Menahem 2 Kings 15:16 and Josiah (2 Chronicles 34:6; 2 Chronicles 35:18)....

EXPOSITION EZRA 4:17 THEN SENT THE KING AN ANSWER. The complaint made was of such importance that an answer was returned without delay. It was addressed both to Rehum and Shimshai, since they were independent authorities.. PEACE, AND AT SUCH A TIME. "Peace" (_sheldm_)_ _is the ordinary Oriental salutation. The other word, _uk'eth_,_ _is taken by our translators to refer to the date; but it really means, like _uk'eneth _(Ezra 4:10), "and so forth," or "et cetera." EZRA 4:18 The LETTER HATH BEEN PLAINLY READ BEFORE ME. Despatches are read _to_,_ _

THERE HAVE BEEN MIGHTY KINGS ALSO OVER JERUSALEM, WHICH HAVE RULED OVER ALL COUNTRIES BEYOND THE RIVER,.... As David and Solomon; and the account of these they had in their records, see 2 Samuel 8:1 AND TOLL, TRIBUTE, AND CUSTOM, WAS PAID UNTO THEM; as appears from the places referred to; and this served to strengthen the insinuation made to the king, that if these people were suffered to go on building, he would lose his tribute and taxes in those parts....

CHAPTER 4 _ 1. The offer of the Samaritans refused (Ezra 4:1)_ 2. The letter to King Artaxerxes (Ezra 4:7) 3. The king's reply (Ezra 4:17) 4. The work is stopped (Ezra 4:23) Ezra 4:1. The adversaries were the Samaritans. (There is an interesting correspondence with the book of Acts. After the Spirit of God had begun His blessed work, the enemy from without and then within started his hindering work.) They had watched silently the work of restoration and then appeared before Zerubbabel and the chief of the fathers and said unto them, “Let us build

EZRA 4:8 TO EZRA 6:18. EXTRACT FROM AN ARAMAIC DOCUMENT. Ezra 4:8 contains a letter, together with the king's reply to it, written by adversaries of the Jews to Artaxerxes for the purpose of frustrating the _building of the city walls._ The writers are different from those mentioned in Ezra 4:7 as writing to Artaxerxes; two letters are, therefore spoken of, so that what is said in Ezra 4:7 cannot be in reference to the letter now dealt with. Moreover, this letter has nothing to do with the events recorded in Ezra

MIGHTY KINGS. Such as David and Solomon....

Note on Ezra 4:7-23 The names of the Persian kings which occur in this chapter occasion special difficulty. Upon their right identification necessarily depends our understanding of the whole passage. (_a_) The Persian kings succeed one another in the following order: (1) Cyrus (died, 529); (2) Cambyses, 529 522; (3) Gomates or Pseudo-Smerdis, 522; (4) Darius Hystaspes, 522 485; (5) Xerxes, 485 465; (6) Artaxerxes I. Longimanus, 465 425; (7, 8) Xerxes II. and Sogdianus; (9) Darius II. Nothus, 424 395, &c. (_b_) In chap. Ezra 4:5 we learn that the work of building the Temple was frustrated by the Samaritans "all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia." Again in Ezra 4:24 (th