“Why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?”
The full verse · Ezra 4:22 · KJV
Take now that ye not to : should to the of the ?
Asked by
Asked to
Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe, leaders of the Samaritan opposition who had written to Artaxerxes, along with their fellow officials in the trans-Euphrates region.
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionArtaxerxes uses this rhetorical question to justify his command and motivate immediate action by highlighting the negative consequences of inaction. By framing potential harm as a question rather than a declaration, he invites agreement and creates urgency without appearing dictatorial.
The Response
What Scripture recordsUpon receiving this letter, Rehum, Shimshai, and their associates went immediately to Jerusalem and forcibly stopped the Jews’ work on the city (Ezra 4:23). The construction ceased until the second year of King Darius of Persia.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyArtaxerxes poses this question to emphasize the supposed urgency of stopping Jerusalem’s reconstruction. The Hebrew root behind ‘damage’ (nezek) carries legal and financial connotations, appearing in contexts of compensation and loss throughout Old Testament law. By phrasing this as a question, the king transforms potential threat into shared concern, making his correspondents partners in protecting imperial interests rather than mere recipients of orders. The rhetorical form invites no real answer because the answer is assumed: no damage should grow to harm the king. This question reveals how political calculation can blind rulers to God’s purposes. What Artaxerxes viewed as prudent governance actually delayed the restoration of the city through which salvation would come. The question exposes the tragic irony of human power wielded in ignorance of divine plans.
Have you ever watched fear of loss drive someone to block what God is building? Artaxerxes calculated political risk while missing divine purpose entirely. We face similar moments when protecting our comfort, reputation, or resources seems wise but actually resists God’s work. When church leaders propose risky faith steps, when missionaries need support that strains budgets, when mercy requires personal cost, we can disguise self-protection as prudence. James 4:17 warns that knowing the right thing yet failing to do it is sin. Ask God for courage to invest in His kingdom even when earthly calculations scream caution. What looks like damage to our small kingdoms often advances His eternal one. Trust that He who builds His church will sustain both it and you.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the LORD, the God of Israel?”
“Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here?”
“Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations?”
“Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall?”