Ezra 4:21

21 Now, give an order for those men to stop work. The city of Jerusalem will not be rebuilt until I say so.

Ezra 4:21 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 4:21

Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease
From building:

and that this city be not builded until another commandment shall be
given from me;
he might suspect that this case, in all its circumstances, was not truly stated, and that hereafter he might see reason to recede from the present orders he gave; and the rather, as by searching, and perhaps on his own knowledge, must have observed, that his father Cyrus had shown favour to the Jews, and had not only set them at liberty, but had encouraged them to rebuild their temple; which might be what they were about, and was the case, and nothing else, except their houses to dwell in.

Ezra 4:21 In-Context

19 I ordered the records to be searched, and it was done. We found that Jerusalem has a history of disobedience to kings and has been a place of problems and trouble.
20 Jerusalem has had powerful kings who have ruled over the whole area of Trans-Euphrates, and taxes of all kinds have been paid to them.
21 Now, give an order for those men to stop work. The city of Jerusalem will not be rebuilt until I say so.
22 Make sure you do this, because if they continue, it will hurt the government.
23 A copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes sent was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and the others. Then they quickly went to the Jewish people in Jerusalem and forced them to stop building.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.