When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the LORD, the God of Israel,
Parallel translations
- WEB Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity were building a temple to Yahweh, the God of Israel;
- KJV Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel;
- NKJV Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the Lord God of Israel,
- NASB Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the Lord God of Israel,
- NLT The enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were rebuilding a Temple to the Lord, the God of Israel.
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 adversaries of Judah heard that the returned exiles were building the temple. Opposition arose as soon as God's work advanced.
Overview
These adversaries were likely peoples settled in the land during the exile (compare 2 Kings 17:24). Their attention shows that faithful work for God often draws opposition. The verse sets up the recurring biblical pattern that obedience to God meets resistance, yet God's purposes prevail.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 1 Chr 22:9–10But a son will be born to you who will be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name will be Solomon, and I will grant to Israel peace and quiet during his reign.
- Ezra 1:11In all, there were 5,400 gold and silver articles. Sheshbazzar brought all these along when the exiles went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
- Ezra 4:7–10And 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.
- Ezra 6:16Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy.
- Dan 9:25Know and understand this: From the issuance of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until the Messiah, the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of distress.
- Ezra 7:9He had begun the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was upon him.
- Ezra 6:19–20On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles kept the Passover.
- Ezra 10:7And a proclamation was issued throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles should gather at Jerusalem.
- Dan 5:13So Daniel was brought before the king, who asked him, “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah?
- Ezra 10:16So the exiles did as proposed. Ezra the priest selected men who were family heads, each of them identified by name, to represent their families. On the first day of the tenth month they launched the investigation,
- 1 Cor 16:9because a great door for effective work has opened to me, even though many oppose me.
- 1 Kgs 5:4–5But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or crisis.
- Neh 4:1–11Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious and filled with indignation. He ridiculed the Jews
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 4:1 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.