Ezra 4:2

then drew they near unto Zerubbabel, and unto the ancestral chiefs, and said unto them, Let us build with you, for, like you, we seek your God, and, unto him, have, we, been sacrificing since the days of Esar-haddon, king of Assyria, who brought us up hither.

The Emphasised Bible by J. B. Rotherham

In The King James Version

Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.

In Context

1Now, when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard—that, the Sons of the Exile, were building the temple, unto Yahweh, God of Israel,

3But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the ancestral chiefs of Israel, said unto them, It pertaineth not to you and to us [in common], to build a house unto our God,—but, we ourselves together, will build unto Yahweh, God of Israel, even as King Cyrus, king of Persia, hath commanded us.

Read all of Ezra 4

Cross References

2 Kings 17:24And the king of Assyria brought [men] from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avvah, and from Hamath, and [from] Sepharvaim, and caused them to dwell in the cities of Samaria, instead of the sons of Israel,—so they took possession of Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.

2 Kings 17:41Thus were these nations doing reverence unto Yahweh, and yet, unto their own carved images, were they rendering service,—yea, their sons and their son’s sons, as the fathers offered, so are, they, offering until this day.

Ezra 1:5Then arose the ancestral chiefs of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites,—even every one whose spirit God had aroused, to go up to build the house of Yahweh, which was in Jerusalem;

Ezra 3:2Then arose—Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his brethren, and built the altar of the God of Israel,—to offer thereon ascending-sacrifices, as it was written in the law of Moses, the man of God.

Psalms 73:8They mock, and wickedly command oppression, From on high, they command;

Isaiah 37:37So Sennacherib the king of Assyria brake up, and went his way, and returned,—and remained in Nineveh.

Matthew Henry on Ezra 4:2-6

Opposition Made to the Jews. ( b. c. 535.) 1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel; 2 Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither. 3 But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them,… Read the whole commentary →

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