Ezra 4 · Verse 14

Ezra 4:14

Now because we have maintenance from the king’s palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king’s dishonour, therefore have we sent and certified the king;
Ezra 4:14, King James Version

Ezra 4:14 in other translations

BSBNow because we are in the service of the palace and it is not fitting for us to allow the king to be dishonored, we have sent to inform the king
WEBNow because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not appropriate for us to see the king’s dishonor, therefore we have sent and informed the king,
ASVNow because we eat the salt of the palace, and it is not meet for us to see the king’s dishonor, therefore have we sent and certified the king;
YLTNow, because that the salt of the palace is our salt, and the nakedness of the king we have no patience to see, therefore we have sent and made known to the king;
DARBYNow, since we eat the salt of the palace, and it is not right for us to see the king's injury, therefore have we sent and informed the king;
BBENow because we are responsible to the king, and it is not right for us to see the king's honour damaged, we have sent to give the king word of these things,
WebsterNow because we have maintenance from the king's palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore have we sent and certified the king;

What does Ezra 4:14 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
14. we have maintenance from the king's palace--literally, "we are salted with the salt of the palace." "Eating a prince's salt" is an Oriental phrase, equivalent to "receiving maintenance from him."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 14 Now because we have maintenance from the king's palace - More literally: Now because at all times we are salted with the salt of the palace; i.e., We live on the king's bounty, and must be faithful to our benefactor. Salt was used as the emblem of an incorruptible covenant; and those who ate bread and salt together were considered as having entered into a very solemn covenant. These hypocrites intimated that they felt their conscience bound by the league between them and the king; and therefore could not conscientiously see any thing going on that was likely to turn to the king's damage. They were probably also persons in the pay of the Persian king.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ezra 4:6-24

It is an old slander, that the prosperity of the church would be hurtful to kings and princes. Nothing can be more false, for true godliness teaches us to honour and obey our sovereign. But where the command of God requires one thing and the law of the land another, we must obey God rather than man, and patiently submit to the consequences. All who love the gospel should avoid all appearance of evil, lest they…

Read the full comment on Ezra 4:6-24 →

Ezra 4:14 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כְּעַ֗ןke.'AnnowH3705
כָּל\־kol-as to
קֳבֵל֙ko.VelbecauseH6903
דִּֽי\־di-thatH1768
מְלַ֤חme.Lach[the] salt ofH4416
הֵֽיכְלָא֙hei.khe.La'palace theH1965
מְלַ֔חְנָאme.Lach.na'we eat saltH4415
וְעַרְוַ֣תve.'ar.Vatand [the] dishonor ofH6173
מַלְכָּ֔אmal.Ka'king theH4430
לָ֥אla'notH3809
אֲֽרִֽיךְ'arikh[is] properH749
לַ֖נָאLa.na'for us
לְמֶֽחֱזֵ֑אle.me.che.Ze'to seeH2370
עַ֨ל\־'Al-concerningH5922
דְּנָ֔הde.NahthisH1836
שְׁלַ֖חְנָאshe.Lach.na'we have sentH7972
וְהוֹדַ֥עְנָאve.ho.Da'.na'and we have made knownH3046
לְמַלְכָּֽא\׃le.mal.Ka'to king theH4430

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ezra 4:14

  • John 12:5-6

    Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.

  • John 19:12-15

    And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Cesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Cesar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Cesar.

  • Ezekiel 33:31

    And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
have maintenance, etc. Chal. are salted with the salt of thepalace. Salt is reckoned among the principal necessaries of life, (Ecclus. 39:26 or 31;) hence, by a very natural figure, salt is used for food or maintenance in general. I am well informed, says Mr. Parkhurst, that it is a common expression of the natives in the East Indies, "I eat such a one's salt," meaning, I am fed by him. Salt was also, as it still is, among eastern nations, a symbol of friendship and hospitality; and hence, to eat a man's salt, is to be bound to him by the ties of friendship.
and it was.
Eze 33:31; Joh 12:5,6; 19:12-15

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Ezra 4:13

    Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings.

  • Ezra 4:14

    Now because we have maintenance from the king’s palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king’s dishonour, therefore have we sent and certified the king;

  • Ezra 4:15

    That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause was this city destroyed.

Read all of Ezra 4

Ezra 4:14 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Ya pues que estamos mantenidos de palacio, no nos es justo ver el menosprecio del rey: hemos enviado por tanto, y hécho lo saber al rey,
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Or comme nous mangeons le sel du palais, et qu’il n’était pas convenable pour nous de voir qu’on faisait tort au roi, à cause de cela nous avons envoyé et nous avons informé le roi,
German
Elberfelder 1871		Weil wir nun das Salz des Palastes essen und es uns nicht geziemt, den Schaden des Königs anzusehen, deswegen senden wir und tun es dem König kund,
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Nos autem memores salis, quod in palatio comedimus, et quia læsiones regis videre nefas ducimus, idcirco misimus et nuntiavimus regi,