Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezra 4:22
Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?
22. Take heed now that ye fail not to do this ] R.V. And take heed that ye be not slack herein. The king does not anticipate their disobedience, but warns against remissness or dilatoriness on the part of officials. The decrees of the Government were apparently not always executed with promptness in Syria even in the days of Artaxerxes. This fault is said to be not wholly eradicated yet.
why should damage &c.] The king’s fears had been excited by the possibility of political complications and the weakening of his Western frontier. These apprehensions are intelligible in the light of the events of the great Persian War during the reign of Xerxes. Otherwise they seem exaggerated and insincere, as if the Samaritan letter had been accompanied by some substantial arguments which had won the king’s appreciation.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Take heed now that ye fail not to do this,…. To put his orders into execution, and at once, without any loss of time, oblige the Jews to desist from rebuilding the walls of their city, which he was told they were doing, though a great falsehood:
why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? of him and his successors, to be deprived of their toll, tribute, and customs, and to have insurrections, mutinies, and rebellions, in the dominions belonging to them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Ezr 4:22 Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?
Ver. 22. Take heed now that ye fail not ] This was to spur a free horse; like as letters were sent from King Philip and Queen Mary to Bishop Bonner, complaining that heretics were not so reformed as they should be, and exhorting him to more diligence.
Why should damage grow
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
why should: Ezr 4:13, Est 3:8, Est 3:9, Est 7:3, Est 7:4
Reciprocal: Dan 6:2 – and the
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ezr 4:22. Take heed now that ye fail not, &c. Let not a thing, which may be of such ill consequence, grow to a head, whereby others may be excited to follow the example, and rebel against the king.