Ezra 6:10 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Ver. 10. And pray for the life of the king, and of his sons— Though the Jews were not allowed to desire the heathens to pray to their deities for their prosperity, because they were forbidden to acknowledge any other gods than one; yet the Heathens might, if they thought fit, worship their God; nor did the Jews deny them that privilege, or refuse the offerings which they brought for that purpose, till, in the time of their wars with the Romans, the faction of the zealots grew to be predominant: "For then," as Josephus tells us, "one Eleazar, the son of Ananias the high-priest, a desperate daring young man, and the military officer then in command, pressed some of his friends among the priests to receive no offering or sacrifice but from the Jews only; by which means it came to pass, that the very offerings of Caesar, which were used constantly to be made for the welfare of the Roman people, came to be rejected, and this proved the very ground and foundation of the war with that nation. The high-priest however, and the men of best quality, declared themselves extremely dissatisfied with the novelty of this prohibition; and with great importunities desired the continuance of so pious a custom as offering up prayers for princes and governors;" but all in vain: though this place in Ezra, one would think, sets the duty in a clear light.