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.
Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
JPSAnd take heed that ye be not slack herein; why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?'
ASVAnd take heed that ye be not slack herein: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?
DRASee that you be not negligent in executing this, lest by little and little the evil grow to the hurt of the kings.
YLTAnd beware ye of negligence in doing this; why doth the hurt become great to the loss of the kings?'
Drbyand take heed that ye fail not to do this: why should harm grow to the damage of the kings?
RVAnd take heed that ye be not slack herein: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?
WbstrTake heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?
KJB-1769Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? (Take heed now that ye/you_all fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? )
KJB-1611Take heed now that ye faile not to doe this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? (Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)
BshpsTake heede now that ye be not negligent to do this: for why should the king haue harme there through? (Take heed now that ye/you_all be not negligent to do this: for why should the king have harm there through?)
GnvaTake heede nowe that ye fayle not to doe this: why should domage grow to hurt the King? (Take heed now that ye/you_all fail not to do this: why should domage grow to hurt the King? )
CvdlTake hede now that ye be not necligent here in, lest the kynge haue harme there thorow. (Take heed now that ye/you_all be not necligent here in, lest the king have harm there thorow.)
WyclSe ye, that this be not fillid necgligentli, and yuel encreesse litil `and litil ayens kyngis. (See ye/you_all, that this be not filled necgligentli, and evil encreesse little `and little against kings.)
LuthSo sehet nun zu, daß ihr nicht hinlässig hierinnen seid; damit nicht Schaden entstehe dem Könige. (So sehet now to, that you/their/her not hinlässig hierinnen seid; with_it/so_that not Schaden entstehe to_him kings/king.)
ClVgVidete ne negligenter hoc impleatis, et paulatim crescat malum contra reges. (Videte not negligenter this impleatis, and paulatim crescat evil on_the_contrary reges. )
4:6-23 These verses are a parenthetical discussion of later opposition to Jewish rebuilding efforts. The account actually belongs with much later events in the reign of Xerxes (486–465 BC) and Artaxerxes I (465–424 BC), but it is included here because it fits with the theme of opposition. Chronologically, 4:6 fits between chs 6 and 7, while 4:7-23 fits before Neh 1.
and,careful be neglect to,carrying_out on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in this/about_this
This means “Be sure to act concerning this.” This is a figure of speech that expresses a strong positive meaning by using two negative expressions: be careful of, that is, “avoid,” together with an expression that is the opposite of what is desired: negligence of action. Artaxerxes wants the officials to take action. Alternate translation: “Be sure to take action in response to this situation”
The implication is that if the Jews were able to rebuild and fortify Jerusalem and they revolted, then the interests of the king would be damaged because he would lose honor, as the officials suggest in their letter (4:14), and he would also lose revenue (4:13). If it would be helpful to your readers, you could say this explicitly. Alternate translation: “Why should I and other kings suffer dishonor or lose tribute money”
Artaxerxes is making a statement, not asking a question. He does not expect the Samaritan officials to tell him why he should experience greater damage. Instead, he is using the question form to emphasize how important it is for the officials to get the Jews to stop rebuilding Jerusalem. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate these words as a statement. Alternate translation: “I should not suffer dishonor or lose tribute money.”
As in 4:13, the plural kings here may envision that not just Artaxerxes but also his successors would lose revenue if Jerusalem leads a revolt that spreads throughout Beyond-the-River, as the Samaritan officials suggest it would. But Artaxerxes is speaking primarily of himself, in the third person, as kings sometimes did, just as their subjects addressed them in the third person to show humility and respect. (Compare, for example, the way Cyrus speaks of himself in the third person in 6:4, and Darius speaks of himself that way in 6:8 and 6:10). Alternate translation: “Why should kings suffer dishonor or lose tribute money”
The Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, where all Israelite males were commanded to offer sacrifices to the Lord (Exodus 23:14-19; Deuteronomy 16:16-17), underwent several stages of reconstruction and development over hundreds of years. The first Temple was built by King Solomon to replace the aging Tabernacle, and it was constructed on a threshing floor on high ground on the north side of the city (2 Samuel 24; 1 Chronicles 21). Hundreds of years later King Hezekiah expanded the platform surrounding the Temple. When Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in 586 B.C., the Temple was completely destroyed (2 Kings 25:1-21; 2 Chronicles 36:17-21; Jeremiah 39:1-10; 52:1-30). It was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after a group of Jews returned to Judea from exile in Babylon (Ezra 1:5-6:15; Nehemiah 7:5-65). Herod the Great completely rebuilt and expanded the Temple once again around 20 B.C., making it one of the largest temples in the Roman world. Jesus’ first believers often met together in Solomon’s Colonnade, a columned porch that encircled the Temple Mount, perhaps carrying on a tradition started by Jesus himself (John 10:23; Acts 3:11; 5:12). But Herod’s Temple did not last long: After many Jews revolted against Rome, the Romans eventually recaptured Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in A.D. 70.
