Ezra 4:4 · KJV
“Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,”
— Ezra 4:4
But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.
And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Ezra 4 — Context
Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye {do}; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.
3But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.
4Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,
5And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
6And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they {unto him} an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. {Ahasuerus: Heb. Ahashverosh}
Cross References
Ezra 3:3
And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear {was} upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD, {even} burnt offerings morning and evening.
Jeremiah 38:4
Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. {welfare: Heb. peace}
Nehemiah 4:11
And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.
Nehemiah 6:9
For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, {O God}, strengthen my hands.
Isaiah 35:3-4
Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
Nehemiah 4:7-8
But it came to pass, {that} when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, {and} that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, {were made up: Heb. ascended}