May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow all kings and peoples who stretch out their hand to alter this, to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree. Let it be done with all diligence.
Parallel Translations
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May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow all kings and peoples who stretch out their hand to alter this, to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree. Let it be done with all diligence.
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And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed.
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and may the God that hath caused His name to dwell there overthrow all kings and peoples, that shall put forth their hand to alter the same, to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with all diligence.'
Cross-references (20)
Passages linked to Ezra 6:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Kings 9:3 Yahweh said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your supplication, that you have made before me. I have made this house holy, which you have built, to put my name there forever; and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually.
- Deuteronomy 12:5 But to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, you shall seek his habitation, and you shall come there.
- Exodus 20:24 You shall make an altar of earth for me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I record my name I will come to you and I will bless you.
- Deuteronomy 12:11 then it shall happen that to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the wave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which you vow to Yahweh.
- Deuteronomy 16:2 You shall sacrifice the Passover to Yahweh your God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which Yahweh shall choose to cause his name to dwell there.
- 2 Chronicles 7:16 For now I have chosen and made this house holy, that my name may be there forever; and my eyes and my heart will be there perpetually.
- Esther 3:14-15 A copy of the letter, that the decree should be given out in every province, was published to all the peoples, that they should be ready against that day. The couriers went out in haste by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given out in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Susa was perplexed.
- Esther 8:14 So the couriers who rode on royal horses went out, hastened and pressed on by the king’s commandment. The decree was given out in the citadel of Susa.
- Psalms 5:10 Hold them guilty, God. Let them fall by their own counsels. Thrust them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against you.
- Psalms 21:8-10 Your hand will find out all of your enemies. Your right hand will find out those who hate you. You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger. Yahweh will swallow them up in his wrath. The fire shall devour them. You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from among the children of men.
- Psalms 132:13-14 For Yahweh has chosen Zion. He has desired it for his habitation. “This is my resting place forever. I will live here, for I have desired it.
- Psalms 137:8-9 Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, he will be happy who repays you, as you have done to us. Happy shall he be, who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock.
- Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor plan, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going.
- Isaiah 60:12 For that nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yes, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
- Obadiah 1:10 For the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be cut off forever.
- Zechariah 12:2-4 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling to all the surrounding peoples, and it will also be on Judah in the siege against Jerusalem. It will happen in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples. All who burden themselves with it will be severely wounded, and all the nations of the earth will be gathered together against it. In that day,” says Yahweh, “I will strike every horse with terror, and his rider with madness; and I will open my eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.
- Acts 5:38-39 Now I tell you, withdraw from these men, and leave them alone. For if this counsel or this work is of men, it will be overthrown. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it, and you would be found even to be fighting against God!”
- Acts 9:5 He said, “Who are you, Lord?” The Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
- Ezra 6:13 Then Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, Shetharbozenai, and their companions did accordingly with all diligence, because Darius the king had sent a decree.
- Revelation 19:14-21 The armies which are in heaven followed him on white horses, clothed in white, pure, fine linen. Out of his mouth proceeds a sharp, double-edged sword, that with it he should strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He treads the wine press of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. He has on his garment and on his thigh a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the sky, “Come! Be gathered together to the great supper of God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, small and great.” I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse, and against his army. The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his sight, with which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. The rest were killed with the sword of him who sat on the horse, the sword which came out of his mouth. All the birds were filled with their flesh.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Who hath appointed that place to have his Name…
Who hath appointed that place to have his Name called upon there.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Ezr 6:12 And the God that hath caused his…
Ezr 6:12 And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter [and] to destroy this house of God which [is] at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed.
Ver. 12. And the God that hath caused his name] i. e. His word and true worship, Act 9:15 Psa 138:2 Mic 4:5 1Ki 5:3; 1Ki 5:5.
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Destroy all kings and people] A dreadful curse, and such as God saith Amen to. Let all persecutors and church robbers look to themselves. God’s hand hath ever been very heavy upon such and their posterity. See Pro 20:25, with the note.
Let it be done with speed] It hath been too much retarded and delayed already; let it now be expedited. David made haste, and delayed not to keep God’s commandments, Psa 119:60. And Austin crieth out, Nimis sere te amavi, Domine. Too late I loved you, God. It was a great burden to his good soul that he began no sooner to love God. He resolveth therefore to redeem time, and to redouble his diligence; not leaving till his soul was turned into a lump of love. Morus novissime omnium germinat; et tamen parit inter primas; the mulberry tree buds last, but fruits with the first.
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.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shetharboznai,…
Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shetharboznai, and their companions,.... Having received and read the above letter:
according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily; acquainted the Jews with what the king had written; were so far from hindering the work going forward, that they encouraged it; and made disbursements to them out of the king's tribute, and furnished them with everything necessary for sacrifice: and this they did immediately, without delay.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Destroy - Tho' this temple was at length most…
Destroy - Tho' this temple was at length most justly destroyed by the righteous hand of God, yet perhaps the Romans, who were the instruments of that destruction, felt the effects of this curse. For that empire sensibly declined ever after, 'till it was wholly destroyed.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Ezr 6:12. The God that hath caused his name…
Ezr 6:12. The God that hath caused his name to dwell there — Who hath willed that a temple should be built there, called the temple or house of Jehovah. Destroy all kings and people that shall put to their hand to alter, &c. — Darius was touched with such a sense of the greatness of the God of the Jews, that he prays, that He who had all power in heaven and earth, and was King of kings, would not only punish all those kings who went about to obstruct this work, but destroy both them and their people. Though this temple was at length most justly destroyed by the righteous hand of God, yet perhaps the Romans, who were the instruments of that destruction, felt the effects of this curse. For that empire sensibly declined ever after, till it was wholly destroyed.
Here let us admire, how the divine providence overruleth every thing according to its purpose, to bring about all its wise designs. The great men, we here find, stood up against the poor and shattered remnant of Judah; they took counsel together how to oppress them, and keep them down. They laid their plans, exhibited their complaints against them, and thought to overturn them: but, quite contrary to their thoughts, the steps they took for this purpose operated the contrary way, and proved the means of exalting and raising those whom they intended to ruin to a higher pitch of power and pre-eminence. The king, whose governors these men were, and to whom, undoubtedly, they represented how much it was for his interest to put a stop to the rise of Judah, instead of hearkening to their complaints, as was natural, and acting accordingly, sent back a decree, not only forbidding them to molest the Jews in any way, but also granting them the most extraordinary privileges and encouragements, as to the greatest favourites. To what can we attribute this extraordinary behaviour in the king: but to an overruling providence? which ruleth even the hearts of kings, and turneth them as it seemeth best to his sovereign wisdom.
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 Destroy all - A similar malediction is found at…
Destroy all - A similar malediction is found at the end of the great inscription of this same king Darius at Behistun: If anyone injures the tablet which he has set up, he prays that Ormazd will be their enemy, and that they may have no offspring, and that whatever they do, Ormazd may curse it for them.
To alter and to destroy this house - i. e., to alter the decree, and then proceed to destroy the house.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 12. God… destroy all kings — Compare the similar…
12. God… destroy all kings — Compare the similar execrations in Darius’s Behistun inscription, especially the following: “if seeing this tablet, and these images, thou injurest them, and preservest them not as long as my seed endures, may Ormazd be thy enemy, and mayest thou have no offspring, and whatever thou doest may Ormazd curse it for thee.”
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 12. And the God that hath caused his name,…
12. And the God that hath caused his name, &c.] A Hebrew phrase (see Deu_12:11; 1Ki_8:29; Neh_1:9; Jer_7:12) introduced by the Jewish Compiler into his paraphrase of Darius’s decree.
destroy all kings and people] R.V. overthrow all kings and peoples. The word rendered ‘destroy’ here by the A.V. differs in the Aramaic from that rendered ‘destroy’ at the close of the verse. It is used in the Targum of 2Ki_9:33 for the words ‘throw her down’, of Psa_119:139 ‘my zeal hath consumed me’.
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that shall put to their hand] R.V. put forth their hand.
to alter and to destroy this house] R.V. to alter the same, to destroy this house; i.e. alter the decree and to destroy the Temple. These words illustrate the latitude that should be given to the expression ‘alter’
with speed] R.V. with all diligence, cf. Ezr_6:8, and Ezr_5:8.
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.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON. Vers. 12-15.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON. Vers. 12-15.
Overthrow and upbuilding.
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The end of this mission brings to our view
I THE OVERTHROW OF EVIL. "Then Tatnai, Shethar-boznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius had sent, so did they speedily "( ver. 13). With deepest mortification and chagrin must they have received these tidings from the Babylonian court. Their failure was complete and conspicuous. Not only had they not done what they wanted to do, but they bad been compelled to aid and prosper that to which they were implacably opposed. "According to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily;" they paid the expenses (ver. 8) and presented the offerings (vers. 9, 10), and thus contributed to the cause they set out to demolish. In the end we shall see evil overthrown by the power of God, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. By faith we may say what our Master said by Divine prevision, "I saw Satan as lightning fall from heaven". (Luk_10:18) And sometimes God gives us to see evil overthrown before our eyes, its designs upset, its fabric brought down to the ground. It is a pleasing and cheering sight when we see it simply defeated, as when, after long and hard struggle, a good cause succeeds in establishing itself despite the utmost efforts of iniquity to hinder it. Still more gratifying is it to see it suffer such an utter rout as on this occasion, when its forces are not only arrested, but made to serve the cause it bad assailed. Then God not only restrains man"s wrath, but makes it to praise him and to serve us. (Psa_76:10) Let us be encouraged under oppression and persecution. Our Divine Leader can not only deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, but he may even, as here, and as often since in the history of the Church, compel those who are hating us, and maligning and misrepresenting us, and seriously injuring us, to bring us their tribute and aid us in offering our sacrifice of prayer and praise unto the Lord our Saviour.
II SPIRITUAL BUILDING. "And the elders of the Jews builded" (ver. 14), "and they builded and finished" (ver. 15). Then the Jews, under their elders (in order, giving rank and direction to those who were men of experience and capacity), builded the house
1. For God: for his worship and praise; that offerings might be presented unto him which should be acceptable to him; and
2. With God: they gladly availed themselves of the help accorded them by the prophets of the Lord. These men (ver. 14) "prophesied," i.e. they spake in the name of the Lord, urging all to do their work diligently and faithfully, and therefore speedily and Soundly; also obediently, "according to commandment" (ver. 14); and thus they brought their work
3. To its completion: "they finished it;" it stood strong and fair and well furnished, from foundation to top-stone. We, too, are building for God; not, perhaps, a material fabric, but that which is more precious in his sighta Christian character or a Christian cause. We are engaged in "building up ourselves in our most holy faith", (Jud_1:20) adding to our faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, etc.. (2Pe_1:5, 2Pe_1:6, 2Pe_1:7) And we are (or ought to be) engaged in building up the temple of some good cause. Some work of God is occupying our time, is engaging our strength and skill. We are laying the foundation in some small beginnings, or, on the foundation another has laid, we are building up the imperishable "gold, silver, precious stones," rejecting (as far as possible) the "wood, hay, and stubble," which the fires of God would consume. (1Co_3:12) Let us see to it that, in building up both our own character and the cause of God, we build
1. For God; doing all things mainly and chiefly unto him; as "unto the Lord," and not as unto ourselves. Let the glory of Christ be the mainspring of our action. Whatever toil, patience, forbearance, charity may be required, let us gladly yield all because "Jesus is worthy to receive," etc.
2. With God; accepting all the help God offers us through the varied means of grace he has supplied notably the preaching (or "prophesying") of his servants; consulting his word to know his will, that all our building may be according to commandment." We must do what we do in the way, i.e. in the spirit and after the method, in which he would have us work.
3. Unto completion. Learning, growing, ripening until death; sympathising, giving, striving, co-operating till the work is done and the fabric is finished. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.