Then the same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of God’s house which is in Jerusalem. Since that time even until now it has been being built, and yet it is not completed.
Parallel Translations
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Then the same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of God’s house which is in Jerusalem. Since that time even until now it has been being built, and yet it is not completed.
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Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem: and since that time even until now hath it been in building, and yet it is not finished.
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Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the foundations of the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and since that time even until now hath it been in building, and yet it is not completed.
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to Ezra 5:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ezra 3:10 When the builders laid the foundation of Yahweh’s temple, they set the priests in their clothing with trumpets, with the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise Yahweh, according to the directions of David king of Israel.
- Ezra 6:15 This house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
- Ezra 3:8 Now in the second year of their coming to God’s house at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of Yahweh’s house.
- Ezra 5:2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build God’s house which is at Jerusalem; and with them were the prophets of God, helping them.
- Haggai 1:12-14 Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed Yahweh, their God’s voice, and the words of Haggai, the prophet, as Yahweh, their God, had sent him; and the people feared Yahweh. Then Haggai, Yahweh’s messenger, spoke Yahweh’s message to the people, saying, “I am with you,” says Yahweh. Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of Yahweh of Armies, their God,
- Haggai 2:18 ‘Consider, please, from this day and backward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, since the day that the foundation of Yahweh’s temple was laid, consider it.
- Zechariah 4:10 Indeed, who despises the day of small things? For these seven shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. These are Yahweh’s eyes, which run back and forth through the whole earth.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Ezr 5:16 Then came the same Sheshbazzar, [and] laid…
Ezr 5:16 Then came the same Sheshbazzar, [and] laid the foundation of the house of God which [is] in Jerusalem: and since that time even until now hath it been in building, and [yet] it is not finished.
Ver. 16. Then came the same Sheshbazzar] All this is truly and fairly related (as was likewise that of Doeg to Saul, against Ahimelech), but with no good intent. Now to speak the truth not for any love to the truth, nor for respect to justice, nor for the bettering of the hearer or of the offender, but only to incense the one and prejudice the other, this is plain slandering.
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And yet it is not finished] And all by reason of such ill conditioned persons as yourselves, who retarded it.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Even until now; allowing for some interruptions.
Even until now; allowing for some interruptions.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Now therefore, if it seem good to the king,…
Now therefore, if it seem good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure house, which is there at Babylon,.... Where were the archives of the kingdom, where the laws, decrees, edicts, and proclamations, and other things relating to the state, were laid up, that recourse might be had to them upon occasion:
whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem; which the Jews affirmed was made by him, and upon which they proceeded:
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and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter; whether the Jews should be allowed to go on with the building of their temple, and finish it, or whether they should be restrained from it; signifying they were ready to do his will and pleasure either way, as he thought fit.
Next: Ezra Chapter 6
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 16. Sheshbazzar] Probably the military officer that conducted…
Verse 16. Sheshbazzar] Probably the military officer that conducted the people from Babylon, and had the oversight of the work; but some think that Ezra is meant.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Ezr 5:16. Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid…
Ezr 5:16. Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the foundation, &c. — The building was begun according to this order, as soon as ever we were returned, so that we have not forfeited the benefit of the order, for want of pursuing it in time; still it has been in building; but because we have met with opposition, it is not finished. But observe, they mention not the falsehood and malice of the former governors, nor make any complaint of that, (though they had cause enough,) to teach us not to render bitterness for bitterness; nor the most just reproach for that which is most unjust; but to think it enough if we can obtain fair treatment for the future, without an invidious repetition of former injuries. Let us learn hence, with meekness and fear to give a reason of the hope that is within us, 1Pe 3:15; rightly to understand, and then readily to declare what we do in God’s service, and why we do it.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Since that time even until now - Sixteen years…
Since that time even until now - Sixteen years - from 536 B.C. to 520 B.C. The adversaries of the Jews here overstep the truth; since, in point of fact, the work had been suspended for a while Ezr 4:24.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain In building, being pretty far advanced, though for some…
In building, being pretty far advanced, though for some time past it had been at a stand. (Haydock) --- It is not probable that Zorobabel said this, but the author of the letter added it, as he supposed the Jews continued to do some little. (Calmet) --- He desired to favour their cause, yet so as not to irritate the Samaritans. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Then came . . . Shesh-bazzar . . .…
Then came . . . Shesh-bazzar . . . since that time even until now hath it been in building--This was not a part of the Jews' answer--they could not have said this, knowing the building had long ceased. But Tatnai used these expressions in his report, either looking on the stoppage as a temporary interruption, or supposing that the Jews were always working a little, as they had means and opportunities.
Next: Ezra Chapter 6
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 16. Since that time even until now hath it…
16. Since that time even until now hath it been in building — It seems that in some way the building had been going on all through those years of trouble, and the year or a little more that it had entirely ceased, after the order of the pseudo-Smerdis, (Ezr_4:24, note,) was not of sufficient importance to be noticed in this letter.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 16. Then came the same Sheshbazzar] The work here…
16. Then came the same Sheshbazzar] The work here ascribed to Sheshbazzar is evidently that over which Zerubbabel presided in chap. 3.
the foundation] R.V. ‘the foundations’; so the Aramaic and Ezr_4:12.
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since that time &c.] A sentence showing that the cessation of the work mentioned in Ezr_4:5; Ezr_4:24 must not be taken perfectly literally. Building was carried on from time to time, but no longer on any effective scale. The interval of time was from 536 to 520.
finished] R.V. completed. A different word in the original from that rendered ‘finish’ in Ezr_5:3; Ezr_5:9; Ezr_5:11, Ezr_6:14.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) Since that time.—No account is taken of the…
(16) Since that time.—No account is taken of the long interruption. Whether these words are part of the answer given to Tatnai by the Jewish leaders, or his own statement to Darius, it is evident that the unfinished building of a house decreed to be built by Cyrus is regarded as demanding investigation as to the nature and validity of the decree itself.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Since that time even until now hath it been…
Since that time even until now hath it been in building. It is not quite clear whether these words are part of the answer given by the Jews to Tatnai, which he reports to Darius (see ver. 11), or Tatnai"s own statement of what he believes to have been the fact. Perhaps the latter view is the more probable; and we may suppose Tatnai not to have been aware that from the second year of Cyrus to the commencement of the reign of Smerdis, and again during the latter part of this reign and the first eighteen months of the reign of Darius, the work had been suspended.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
The letter from Tattenai to the king that began in Esra 5:7 continues. Tattenai continues to tell the king what the Judeans had told him beginning in (Esra 5:11).
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it is being constructed, but is not yet complete
This can be translated in active form. AT: "people are now constructing it, but they have not done all the work yet" (See: Active or Passive)
constructed
built
translationWords
found
house of God
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 5:16 Most likely, Sheshbazzar began the work and Zerubbabel…
5:16 Most likely, Sheshbazzar began the work and Zerubbabel finished it (see study note on 1:8).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.