Ezra 4:11

11 This is a copy of their letter: “To King Artaxerxes, from your loyal subjects in the province west of the Euphrates River.

Ezra 4:11 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 4:11

This is the copy of the letter they sent unto him, even
unto Artaxerxes the king
Which Ezra brought with him from Babylon, and is contained in the five following verses:

thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time;
this was the inscription of the letter, or the beginning of it.

Ezra 4:11 In-Context

9 They greeted the king for all their colleagues—the judges and local leaders, the people of Tarpel, the Persians, the Babylonians, and the people of Erech and Susa (that is, Elam).

10 They also sent greetings from the rest of the people whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal had deported and relocated in Samaria and throughout the neighboring lands of the province west of the Euphrates River.

11 This is a copy of their letter: “To King Artaxerxes, from your loyal subjects in the province west of the Euphrates River.

12 “The king should know that the Jews who came here to Jerusalem from Babylon are rebuilding this rebellious and evil city. They have already laid the foundation and will soon finish its walls.

13 And the king should know that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, it will be much to your disadvantage, for the Jews will then refuse to pay their tribute, customs, and tolls to you.