The Meaning of Ezra 4:2 Explained

Ezra 4:2

KJV: 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.

YLT: and they draw nigh unto Zerubbabel, and unto heads of the fathers, and say to them, 'Let us build with you; for, like you, we seek to your God, and we are not sacrificing since the days of Esar-Haddon king of Asshur, who brought us up hither.'

Darby: and they came to Zerubbabel and to the chief fathers, and said to them, We would build with you; for we seek your God, as ye; and we have sacrificed to him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assyria, who brought us up hither.

ASV: then they drew near to Zerubbabel, and to the heads of fathers houses , and said unto them, Let us build with you; for we seek your God, as ye do; and we sacrifice unto him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assyria, who brought us up hither.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Ezra 4:2 Mean?

Study Notes

for we seek
The people of the land sought to hinder the work in three ways:
(1) by seeking to draw the Jews into an unreal union, Ezra 4:3 . (cf) 2 Kings 17:32 .
(2) by "weakening the hands of the people of Judah," Ezra 4:4 i.e, by withholding supplies, etc.; and
(3) by accusations lodged with Ahasuerus and Darius. The first was by far the most subtle and dangerous. The lives of Ezra and Nehemiah afford many illustrations of true separation. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 ; 2 Timothy 2:19-21 .

Context Summary

Ezra 4:1-10 - The Building Of The Temple Opposed
So long as you lead a languid and unaggressive life, the enemy will leave you alone, but directly you begin to build God's temple, you may count on His strenuous opposition. When we are permitted to go on from day to day without much temptation, we may fear that we are doing little to destroy evil and construct good. But the virulent hate of the wicked one is a comfortable sign that his kingdom is suffering serious damage. Let us so live that we may give the devil good reason to fear and hate us. There is a stronger than he. We must beware of the proposal to join in with the ungodly. Their arguments may sound very fair and appeal to a false liberality of sentiment, but the golden cup contains poison, and beneath the kiss is the traitor's hand. This is why so many fair enterprises have miscarried. They have seemed to afford common ground for cooperation with the false and counterfeit Israel, but they have ended in disillusion and disappointment. Though the Jews excited the intense hatred and opposition of their would-be helpers, their policy of exclusiveness was amply justified by the result. The old proverb reminds us that we must never trust our enemies when they offer blandishments and gifts. [source]

Chapter Summary: Ezra 4

1  The adversaries, being not accepted in the building of the temple with the Jews,
4  endeavor to hinder it
7  Their letter to Artaxerxes
17  The answer and decree of Artaxerxes
23  The building is hindered

What do the individual words in Ezra 4:2 mean?

and they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers' [houses] and said to them let us build with you for as you [do] we seek your God - and to Him we have sacrificed since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here
וַיִּגְּשׁ֨וּ אֶל־ זְרֻבָּבֶ֜ל וְאֶל־ רָאשֵׁ֣י הָֽאָב֗וֹת וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ לָהֶם֙ נִבְנֶ֣ה עִמָּכֶ֔ם כִּ֣י כָכֶ֔ם נִדְר֖וֹשׁ לֵֽאלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם [ולא] (וְל֣וֹ ׀) אֲנַ֣חְנוּ זֹבְחִ֗ים מִימֵי֙ אֵסַ֤ר חַדֹּן֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ אַשּׁ֔וּר הַמַּעֲלֶ֥ה אֹתָ֖נוּ פֹּֽה

וַיִּגְּשׁ֨וּ  and  they  came 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָגַשׁ  
Sense: to draw near, approach.
זְרֻבָּבֶ֜ל  Zerubbabel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: זְרֻבָּבֶל  
Sense: the grandson of king Jehoiachin and leader of the first group of returning exiles from Babylon.
רָאשֵׁ֣י  the  heads 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.
הָֽאָב֗וֹת  of  the  fathers'  [houses] 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ  and  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
לָהֶם֙  to  them 
Parse: Preposition-l, Pronoun, third person masculine plural
Root: הֵם 
Sense: they, these, the same, who.
נִבְנֶ֣ה  let  us  build 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect Cohortative if contextual, first person common plural
Root: בָּנָה  
Sense: to build, rebuild, establish, cause to continue.
עִמָּכֶ֔ם  with  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural
Root: עִם  
Sense: with.
כָכֶ֔ם  as  you  [do] 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural
נִדְר֖וֹשׁ  we  seek 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common plural
Root: דַּרְיׄושׁ 
Sense: to resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require.
לֵֽאלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם  your  God 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
[ולא]  - 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
(וְל֣וֹ ׀)  and  to  Him 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
זֹבְחִ֗ים  have  sacrificed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: זָבַח  
Sense: to slaughter, kill, sacrifice, slaughter for sacrifice.
מִימֵי֙  since  the  days 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
חַדֹּן֙  Esarhaddon 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֵסַר־חַדֹּן  
Sense: king of Assyria in the seventh-century BC.
מֶ֣לֶךְ  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
אַשּׁ֔וּר  of  Assyria 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַשּׁוּר  
Sense: the second son of Shem, eponymous ancestor of the Assyrians.
הַמַּעֲלֶ֥ה  who  brought 
Parse: Article, Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
אֹתָ֖נוּ  us 
Parse: Direct object marker, first person common plural
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
פֹּֽה  here 
Parse: Adverb
Root: פֹּה  
Sense: here, from here, hither.