Bible Strands
Ezra 4:15
that a search should be made of the record books of your fathers. In these books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, inciting sedition from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The officials opposing Judah address King Artaxerxes, urging him to order an investigation into the royal archives before ruling on the Jerusalem reconstruction project. They make this appeal at the precise moment the king is weighing whether to permit the city's walls and foundations to be restored.
The words — The text highlights יְבַקַּר (ye.va.Kar, "he will search") and אֲבָהָתָךְ ('a.va.ha.Ta/kh, "your fathers") to direct the king toward official state records. These terms establish the procedural expectation that archived documents will confirm the city's established history of insurrection.
The thread — The assertion that Jerusalem is a historically rebellious city mirrors the earlier warning in Ezra 4:12 and corresponds to the biblical record of Judah's exile in 2 Kings 24:20 and the subsequent siege detailed in 2 Kings 25:4.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to observe how political appeals depend on documented precedent to justify administrative opposition to religious restoration. It demonstrates that ancient royal petitions demanded verification of past decrees and recorded outcomes before new policies could be enacted.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause was this city destroyed.
Cross-references
- Ezra 4:12 Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you to us have returned to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring its walls and repairing its foundations.
- 2 Kings 24:20 For because of the anger of the LORD, all this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He finally banished them from His presence. And Zedekiah also rebelled against the king of Babylon.
- 2 Kings 25:4 Then the city was breached; and though the Chaldeans had surrounded the city, all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden. They headed toward the Arabah,
- Nehemiah 2:19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked us and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
- Nehemiah 6:6 that read: “It is reported among the nations—and Geshem agrees—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and this is why you are building the wall. According to these reports, you are to become their king,
- Esther 3:5 When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or pay him homage, he was filled with rage.
- Jeremiah 52:3 For because of the anger of the LORD, all this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He finally banished them from His presence. And Zedekiah also rebelled against the king of Babylon.
- Daniel 6:4 Thus the administrators and satraps sought a charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom, but they could find no charge or corruption, because he was trustworthy, and no negligence or corruption was found in him.
- Acts 17:6 But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here,