The letter which you sent to us has been plainly read before me.
Parallel translations
- KJV The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.
- BSB The letter you sent us has been translated and read in my presence.
- NKJV The letter which you sent to us has been clearly read before me.
- NASB the document which you sent to us has been translated and read before me.
- NLT “The letter you sent has been translated and read to me.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The king confirmed that the letter had been clearly read before him. He acknowledged receiving and understanding the accusation.
Overview
This formal acknowledgment shows the complaint was taken seriously at court. The careful procedure reflects the workings of Persian administration. The detail continues the precise documentation of how human authority weighed the matter.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Neh 8:8They read in the book, in the law of God, distinctly; and they gave the sense, so that they understood the reading.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The return from exile and the rebuilt altar keep alive the hope of a greater restoration — the true return from our deeper exile of sin accomplished by Christ.
How Ezra 4:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.