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parallelVerse INT GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1SA 2SA PSA AMOS HOS 1KI 2KI 1CH 2CH PRO ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC GAL 1TH 2TH 1COR 2COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1TIM TIT 1PET 2PET 2TIM HEB YUD 1YHN 2YHN 3YHN REV
Ezra Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10
Ezra 4 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24
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.
Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET-LV and_in/on/at/with_days of_ʼArtaḩshashtāʼ he_wrote Bishlam Mitrədāt Tabeel and_rest colleagues_his[fn] to ʼArtaḩshashtāʼ[fn] the_king of_Pāraş and_letter[fn] the_letter [was]_written Aramaic and_translated Aramaic.
4:7 Variant note: כנות/ו: (x-qere) ’כְּנָוֺתָ֔י/ו’: lemma_3674 n_1.1 morph_HNcmpc/Pp3ms id_15to2 כְּנָוֺתָ֔י/ו
4:7 Variant note: ארתחששתא: (x-qere) ’אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֖שְׂתְּ’: lemma_783 a n_1.0 morph_HNp id_15dPn אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֖שְׂתְּ
4:7 Note: We read one or more accents in L differently from BHQ.
UHB וּבִימֵ֣י אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֗שְׂתָּא כָּתַ֨ב בִּשְׁלָ֜ם מִתְרְדָ֤ת טָֽבְאֵל֙ וּשְׁאָ֣ר כנותו[fn] עַל־ארתחששתא[fn] מֶ֣לֶךְ פָּרָ֑ס וּכְתָב֙ הַֽנִּשְׁתְּוָ֔ן כָּת֥וּב אֲרָמִ֖ית וּמְתֻרְגָּ֥ם אֲרָמִֽית׃פ ‡
(ūⱱiymēy ʼartaḩshastāʼ kātaⱱ bishlām mitrədāt ţāⱱəʼēl ūshəʼār knvtv ˊal-ʼrtḩshshtʼ melek pārāş ūkətāⱱ hannishtəvān kātūⱱ ʼₐrāmit ūməturgām ʼₐrāmit.◊)
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).
Q כְּנָוֹתָ֔יו
Q אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֖שְׂתְּ
BrLXX Καὶ ἐν ἡμέραις Ἀρθασασθὰ ἔγραψεν ἐν εἰρήνῃ Μιθραδάτῃ Ταβεὴλ καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς συνδούλοις· πρὸς Ἀρθασασθὰ βασιλέα Περσῶν ἔγραψεν ὁ φορολόγος γραφὴν Συριστὶ καὶ ἡρμηνευμένην.
(Kai en haʸmerais Arthasastha egrapsen en eiraʸnaʸ Mithradataʸ Tabeaʸl kai tois loipois sundoulois; pros Arthasastha basilea Persōn egrapsen ho forologos grafaʸn Suristi kai haʸrmaʸneumenaʸn. )
BrTr And in the days of Arthasastha, Tabeel wrote peaceably to Mithradates and to the rest of his fellow-servants: the tribute-gatherer wrote to Arthasastha king of the Persians a writing in the Syrian tongue, and the same interpreted.
ULT And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his companions wrote to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, and the script of the letter was written in Aramaic and was interpreted in Aramaic.
UST Then again during the time of Artaxerxes, who was the next king of Persia, the enemies of the Jews wrote a letter to him. Some men named Bishlam, Mithredath, and Tabeel were the leaders of this group. They had someone write the letter for them in the Aramaic language, using the Aramaic alphabet.
BSB § And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. It was written in Aramaic and then translated.[fn]
4:7 The original text of Ezra 4:8 through Ezra 6:18 is in Aramaic.
OEB No OEB EZRA book available
WEBBE In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in Syrian and delivered in the Syrian language.
WMBB (Same as above)
NET And 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:]
LSV and in the days of Artaxerxes have Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions written to Artaxerxes king of Persia, and the writing of the letter is written in Aramaic, and interpreted in Aramaic.
FBV During the time of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their fellow officers wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated from Aramaic.[fn]
4:7 The passage from 4:8 to 6:18 is in Aramaic.
T4T Later, when Xerxes’ son Artaxerxes became the King of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and their colleagues/companions wrote a letter to him. They wrote the letter in the Aramaic language, and it was translated into another language that the king knew.
LEB And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their colleagues wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated from Aramaic.
BBE And in the time of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his friends, sent a letter to Artaxerxes, king of Persia, writing it in the Aramaean writing and language.
Moff No Moff EZRA book available
JPS And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Aramaic character, and set forth in the Aramaic tongue.
ASV And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian character, and set forth in the Syrian tongue.
DRA And in the days of Artaxerxes, Beselam, Mithridates, and Thabeel, and the rest that were in the council wrote to Artaxerxes king of the Persians: and the letter of accusation was written in Syriac, and was read in the Syrian tongue.
YLT and in the days of Artaxerxes have Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions written unto Artaxerxes king of Persia, and the writing of the letter is written in Aramaean, and interpreted in Aramaean.
Drby And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in Aramaic, and interpreted in Aramaic.
RV And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian character, and set forth in the Syrian tongue.
Wbstr And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions to Artaxerxes king of Persia, and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian language, and interpreted in the Syrian language.
KJB-1769 ¶ And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.[fn][fn]
KJB-1611 ¶ [fn][fn]And in the dayes of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, vnto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above apart from footnotes)
Bshps And in the dayes of Artaxerxes, wrote Mithridach, Tabel, and the other of his counsell, vnto Artaxerxes the king of Persia with faire wordes: And the writing of the letter was in the Syrians speache, and interpreted in the language of the Syrians:
(And in the days of Artaxerxes, wrote Mithridach, Tabel, and the other of his counsell, unto Artaxerxes the king of Persia with fair words: And the writing of the letter was in the Syrians speeche, and interpreted in the language of the Syrians:)
Gnva And in the daies of Artahshashte, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions wrote when it was peace, vnto Artahshashte king of Persia, and the writing of the letter was the Aramites writing, and the thing declared was in the language of the Aramites.
(And in the days of Artahshashte, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions wrote when it was peace, unto Artahshashte king of Persia, and the writing of the letter was the Aramites writing, and the thing declared was in the language of the Aramites. )
Cvdl And in the tyme of Artaxerses, wrote Bisellam, Mithudath, Tabeel and the other of their councell vnto Artaxerses the kynge of Persia. But the scripture of ye letter was wrytten in the Syrians speach, and was interpretated in the langage of the Syrians.
(And in the time of Artaxerses, wrote Bisellam, Mithudath, Tabeel and the other of their council/counsel unto Artaxerses the king of Persia. But the scripture of ye/you_all letter was written in the Syrians speech, and was interpretated in the langage of the Syrians.)
Wycl and in the daies of Artaxarses, Besellam wroot, Mytridates, and Thabel, and othere, that weren in the counsel of hem, to Artaxarses, kyng of Persis. For the pistle of accusyng was writun in langage of Sirie, and was red in word of Sirie.
(and in the days of Artaxarses, Besellam wroot, Mytridates, and Thabel, and other, that were in the council/counsel of them, to Artaxarses, king of Persis. For the pistle of accusyng was written in langage of Sirie, and was red in word of Sirie.)
Luth Und zu den Zeiten Arthahsasthas schrieb Bislam, Mithredath, Tabeel und die andern ihres Rats zu Arthahsastha, dem Könige in Persien. Die Schrift aber des Briefes war auf syrisch geschrieben und ward auf syrisch ausgelegt.
(And to the Zeiten Arthahsasthas schrieb Bislam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the change ihres Rats to Arthahsastha, to_him kings/king in Persien. The Schrift but the Briefes what/which on syrisch written and what/which on syrisch ausgelegt.)
ClVg Et in diebus Artaxerxis scripsit Beselam, Mithridates, et Thabeel, et reliqui qui erant in consilio eorum, ad Artaxerxem regem Persarum: epistola autem accusationis scripta erat syriace, et legebatur sermone syro.
(And in days Artaxerxis scripsit Beselam, Mithridates, and Thabeel, and I_left who they_were in consilio their, to Artaxerxem regem Persarum: epistola however accusationis scripta was syriace, and legebatur sermone syro. )
4:7 The exact date of these events is unknown, but they might have occurred around the same time as an Egyptian revolt in 448 BC (a few years before Artaxerxes I sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem in 445 BC). If so, the enemies of Judah and Artaxerxes probably thought that the Jews would revolt as the Egyptians had.
• Aramaic was the international diplomatic language of the Persian Empire.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-time-sequential
וּבִימֵ֣י
and,in/on/at/with,days
Here the word And introduces another event in the sequence of actions by the enemies of the Jews. Use the form in your language that is most natural for marking events in a sequence.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
וּבִימֵ֣י אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֗שְׂתָּא
and,in/on/at/with,days ʼArtaḩshashtāʼ
The term days is used here to refer to a particular period of time. In this context, it means during the reign of the next Persian king, Artaxerxes, the son of Ahasuerus (Xerxes). Alternate translation: “during the reign of Artaxerxes”
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
וּבִימֵ֣י אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֗שְׂתָּא
and,in/on/at/with,days ʼArtaḩshashtāʼ
If it would be helpful to your readers, you could explain that Artaxerxes was the next king of Persia. Alternate translation: “during the reign of the next Persian king, Artaxerxes”
Note 4 topic: translate-names
אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֗שְׂתָּא
ʼArtaḩshashtāʼ
Artaxerxes is the name of a man.
Note 5 topic: translate-names
בִּשְׁלָ֜ם מִתְרְדָ֤ת טָֽבְאֵל֙
Bishlam Mitrədāt Tabeel
These are the names of three men.
וּשְׁאָ֣ר כנותו
and,rest (Some words not found in UHB: and,in/on/at/with,days ʼArtaḩshashtāʼ wrote Bishlam Mitrədāt Tabeel and,rest colleagues,his on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in ʼArtaḩshashtāʼ king Pāraş and,letter the,letter written Aramit and,translated Aramit )
The term companions here describes people who hold a similar position. Alternate translation: “and his other associates”
Note 6 topic: writing-background
וּכְתָב֙ הַֽנִּשְׁתְּוָ֔ן כָּת֥וּב אֲרָמִ֖ית וּמְתֻרְגָּ֥ם אֲרָמִֽית
and,letter the,letter written Aramit and,translated Aramit
This is background information that helps readers understand how these officials went about writing to the king. Aramaic was the official language for government correspondence within the Persian empire. These officials apparently spoke Samaritan, a language similar to Hebrew. So they had someone express their message for them in the Aramaic language. The term interpreted does not necessarily indicate that the officials first wrote out their letter in Samaritan, and then someone translated it into Aramaic for them. Instead, they may have told someone what they wanted to say, and that person composed the letter in Aramaic. Since Aramaic also used differently shaped letters from the ones that Hebrew and Samaritan used, that person wrote the letter using those characters. Alternate translation: “these officials arranged for someone to write their letter for them in the Aramaic script and language”
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
וּכְתָב֙ הַֽנִּשְׁתְּוָ֔ן כָּת֥וּב אֲרָמִ֖ית וּמְתֻרְגָּ֥ם אֲרָמִֽית
and,letter the,letter written Aramit and,translated Aramit
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: “and these officials hired a scribe who wrote the letter in Aramaic”
וּכְתָב֙ הַֽנִּשְׁתְּוָ֔ן כָּת֥וּב אֲרָמִ֖ית וּמְתֻרְגָּ֥ם אֲרָמִֽית
and,letter the,letter written Aramit and,translated Aramit
If it would be helpful in your language, you could simply say that the letter was written in Aramaic, rather than mentioning both the script and the language. Alternate translation: “and these officials hired a scribe who wrote the letter in Aramaic”
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
וּמְתֻרְגָּ֥ם אֲרָמִֽית
and,translated Aramit
We might expect that, logically, this phrase would come before the previous one, written in the Aramaic script, since the letter had to be composed before it was written down. But in its present position at the end of this sentence, this phrase actually serves a larger purpose within the book. It signals readers that what follows, through 6:18, is itself written in Aramaic. Presumably the original readers, who were clearly expected to understand both languages, would have been alert to such a signal. (A long Aramaic section in the book of Daniel is introduced similarly: “Then the wise men spoke to the king in Aramaic,” Daniel 2:4.) Alternate translation: “and was translated into Aramaic such as the following:”
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.