Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
OEB No OEB EZRA book available
WEBBE Be it known now to the king that if this city is built and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and in the end it will be hurtful to the kings.
WMBB (Same as above)
NET Let 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.
LSV Now let it be known to the king, that if this city is built and the walls finished, that they do not give toll, tribute, and custom; and at length it causes loss [to] the kings.
FBV Your Majesty should realize that if this city is rebuilt and its walls repaired, they will not pay tax, tribute, or fees, and the king's revenue will suffer.
T4T “It is important for you to know that if they rebuild the city and finish building the walls, they will stop paying any kind of taxes. As a result, there will be less money in your treasury.
LEB Now be it known to the king that if this city is built and the walls are finished, they will not pay tribute and toll, and the royal revenue will be reduced.
BBE The king may be certain that when the building of this town and its walls is complete, they will give no tax or payment in goods or forced payments, and in the end it will be a cause of loss to the kings.
Moff No Moff EZRA book available
JPS Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, impost, or toll, and so thou wilt endamage the revenue of the kings.
ASV 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.
DRA And now be it known to the king, that if this city be built up, and the walls thereof repaired, they will not pay tribute nor toll, nor yearly revenues, and this loss will fail upon the kings.
YLT 'Now, be it known to the king, that if this city be builded, and the walls finished, toll, tribute, and custom they do not give; and at length [to] the kings it doth cause loss.
Drby Be it known therefore unto the king, that, if this city be built and the walls be completed, they will not pay tribute, tax, and toll, and in the end it will bring damage to the kings.
RV 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 endamage the kings.
Wbstr Be it known now to the king, that, if this city shall be built, and the walls set up again , then they will not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou wilt endamage the revenue of the kings.
KJB-1769 Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings.[fn][fn]
(Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou/you shalt endamage the revenue of the kings. )
KJB-1611 [fn][fn]Be it knowen now vnto the king, that if this city be builded, and the wals set vp againe, then will they not pay tolle, tribute, and custome, and so thou shalt endammage the reuenue of the kings.
(Be it known now unto the king, that if this city be builded, and the wals set up again, then will they not pay tolle, tribute, and custome, and so thou/you shalt endammage the reuenue of the kings.)
Bshps Be it knowen now vnto the king, that if this citie be builded, and the walles made vp againe, then shal not they geue toule, tribute, and custome, & the kinges profite shall incurre damage.
(Be it known now unto the king, that if this city be builded, and the walls made up again, then shall not they give toule, tribute, and custome, and the kings profite shall incurre damage.)
Gnva Be it knowen nowe vnto the King, that if this citie be built, and the foundations of the walles layed, they will not giue tolle, tribute, nor custome: so shalt thou hinder the Kings tribute.
(Be it known now unto the King, that if this city be built, and the foundations of the walls laid, they will not give tolle, tribute, nor custome: so shalt thou/you hinder the Kings tribute. )
Cvdl Be it knowne now therfore vnto ye kynge, yt yf this cite be buylded & the walles made vp agayne, the shal not they geue tribute, toll, and yearly custome, and their deuyce shal do ye kynge harme.
(Be it known now therefore unto ye/you_all king, it if this cite be builded/built and the walls made up again, the shall not they give tribute, toll, and yearly custome, and their deuyce shall do ye/you_all king harme.)
Wycl Nou therfor be it knowun to the kyng, that if thilke citee be bildid, and the wallis therof be restorid, thei schulen not yyue tribut, and tol, and annuel rentis, and this trespas schal come `til to the kyng.
(Nou therefore be it known to the king, that if that city be builded/built, and the wallis thereof be restorid, they should not give tribut, and tol, and annuel rentis, and this trespass shall come `til to the king.)
Luth So sei nun dem Könige kund, wo diese Stadt gebauet wird und die Mauern wieder gemacht, so werden sie Schoß, Zoll und jährliche Zinsen nicht geben, und ihr Vornehmen wird den Königen Schaden bringen.
(So be now to_him kings/king kund, where this/these city gebauet becomes and the walls again made, so become they/she/them Schoß, Zoll and jährliche Zinsen not geben, and you/their/her Vornehmen becomes the kings/kingn Schaden bringen.)
ClVg Nunc igitur notum sit regi, quia si civitas illa ædificata fuerit, et muri ejus instaurati, tributum, et vectigal, et annuos reditus non dabunt, et usque ad reges hæc noxa perveniet.
(Nunc igitur notum let_it_be regi, because when/but_if city that ædificata has_been, and muri his instaurati, tributum, and vectigal, and annuos reditus not/no dabunt, and until to reges these_things noxa perveniet. )
UTN uW Translation Notes:
כְּעַ֗ן
now
The word now is similar to the expression “and now” in 4:10 and 4:11. Here, now introduces an important point within the letter. If your language has a comparable expression that it uses for this same purpose, you can use that in your translation.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person
יְדִ֨יעַ֙ לֶהֱוֵ֣א לְמַלְכָּ֔א
known it_will_happen to=the=king
As in 4:12, the officials address the king here in the third person as a sign of respect. If it would be helpful in your language, you could indicate this respect by using an expression such as “O king.” Alternate translation: “we would like you to know, O king”
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
יְדִ֨יעַ֙ לֶהֱוֵ֣א לְמַלְכָּ֔א
known it_will_happen to=the=king
If it would be helpful in your language, you could say this with an active form, and you could say who is doing the action. Alternate translation: “we would like you to know, O king”
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism
הֵ֣ן קִרְיְתָ֥א דָךְ֙ תִּתְבְּנֵ֔א וְשׁוּרַיָּ֖ה יִֽשְׁתַּכְלְל֑וּן
if city,the this rebuilt and,walls,the finished
These two phrases mean similar things. (As noted in 4:12, completed is another way of saying built when the terms are paired like this.) Likely for emphasis, the officials say essentially the same thing twice to create an ominous sense of threat. You do not need to repeat both phrases in your translation if that might be confusing for your readers. Alternate translation: “if they are able to rebuild that city” However, there is a slight difference in meaning, and you could also choose to bring that out in your translation. The second phrase is actually stronger and more threatening, because the city walls could prevent Artaxerxes from reasserting his sovereignty by force. Alternate translation: “if they rebuild the city, and especially if they restore its protective walls”
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
הֵ֣ן קִרְיְתָ֥א דָךְ֙ תִּתְבְּנֵ֔א וְשׁוּרַיָּ֖ה יִֽשְׁתַּכְלְל֑וּן
if city,the this rebuilt and,walls,the finished
If it would be helpful in your language, you could say this with an active form, and you could say who did the action. Alternate translation: “if the Jews are able to rebuild the city and restore its walls”
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet
מִנְדָּֽה־בְל֤וֹ וַהֲלָךְ֙ לָ֣א יִנְתְּנ֔וּן
tribute custom and,toll not pay
Tax, tribute, and custom mean similar things. The officials use the three terms together to emphasize that the king could lose all of his income from the Jews living in Jerusalem and the province of Judah. However, there is a slight difference between the three terms. While their exact meaning is uncertain, they may refer to these three kinds of taxes: taxes based on a percentage of income, tribute money that subjects would pay on a per-person basis, and duty that they would pay on articles purchased for use or transported for sale. Alternate translation: “they will no longer pay taxes, tribute, or duty” But if you do not have three different words for different kinds of taxes in your language, you could just use one word, as in the UST. (A doublet can involve the use of more than two words.)
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
וְאַפְּתֹ֥ם מַלְכִ֖ים תְּהַנְזִֽק
and,revenue royal reduced
The officials are writing to a king who is the sole ruler of his empire, but they may be using the plural kings here because previous kings had accumulated much of the royal treasures. The officials may also be suggesting implicitly that not only Artaxerxes, but also his successors, will get no further revenue from the Jews if Jerusalem is rebuilt and fortified. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could say that explicitly. Alternate translation: “and this will reduce the income of kings”
