Bible Strands
Ezra 4:17
Then the king sent this reply: To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of your associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in the region west of the Euphrates: Greetings.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Persian king issues a formal written reply to Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and their associates residing in Samaria and the region west of the Euphrates. This dispatch arrives immediately after the opponents warn that restoring Jerusalem's walls will jeopardize royal tax revenue and control.
The words — פִּתְגָמָא (pitgama) refers to an official decree or written dispatch, and שְׁלַח (shlach) means he sent. These terms mark the king's response as a bureaucratic instrument of state administration rather than a personal communication.
The thread — The letter chain continues in Ezra 4:9, which correctly identifies Rehum and Shimshai among the officials who drafted the original complaint, while Ezra 4:7 records a separate group writing to Artaxerxes. The diplomatic correspondence pattern extends to Ezra 5:7, where local officials send a formal report to King Darius.
Why it lands — The text states that imperial paperwork directly halted construction by prioritizing political security over religious restoration. A reader must see how state bureaucracy, not divine opposition, dictated the timeline of the rebuilding effort.
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
Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and unto the rest beyond the river, Peace, and at such a time.
Cross-references
- Ezra 4:7 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.
- Ezra 4:9 From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates—the judges and officials over Tripolis, Persia, Erech and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,
- Ezra 5:7 The report they sent him read as follows: To King Darius: All peace.
- Ezra 7:12 Artaxerxes, king of kings. To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Greetings.
- Luke 10:5 Whatever house you enter, begin by saying, ‘Peace to this house.’
- Acts 23:26 Claudius Lysias, To His Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings.
- Romans 1:7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.