Ezra 1:4

1:4 Anyone who survives in any of those places where he is a resident foreigner must be helped by his neighbors ¹  with silver, gold, equipment, and animals, along with voluntary offerings for the temple of God which is in Jerusalem.’”

Ezra 2:1

The Names of the Returning Exiles

2:1 ² These are the people ³  of the province who were going up, ⁴  from the captives of the exile whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had forced into exile in Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem ⁵  and Judah, each to his own city.

Ezra 3:3

3:3 They established the altar on its foundations, even though they were in terror of the local peoples, ⁶  and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and the evening offerings.

Ezra 3:7

Preparations for Rebuilding the Temple

3:7 So they provided money ⁷  for the masons and carpenters, and food, beverages, and olive oil for the people of Sidon ⁸  and Tyre, ⁹  so that they would bring cedar timber from Lebanon to the seaport ¹⁰  at Joppa, in accord with the edict of King Cyrus of Persia.

Ezra 5:8

5:8 Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great God. It is being built with large stones, ¹¹  and timbers are being placed in the walls. This work is being done with all diligence and is prospering in their hands.

Ezra 6:8

6:8 “I also hereby issue orders as to what you are to do with those elders of the Jews in order to rebuild this temple of God. From the royal treasury, from the taxes of Trans-Euphrates the complete costs are to be given to these men, so that there may be no interruption of the work. ¹² 

Ezra 6:14

6:14 The elders of the Jews continued building and prospering, while at the same time ¹³  Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo continued prophesying. They built and brought it to completion by the command of the God of Israel and by the command of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

Ezra 8:17

8:17 I sent them to Iddo, who was the leader in the place called Casiphia. I told them ¹⁴  what to say to Iddo and his relatives, ¹⁵  who were the temple servants in ¹⁶  Casiphia, so they would bring us attendants for the temple of our God.

Ezra 8:25

8:25 and I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the vessels intended for the temple of our God – items that the king, his advisers, his officials, and all Israel who were present had contributed.

Ezra 9:2

9:2 Indeed, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race ¹⁷  has become intermingled with the local residents. Worse still, the leaders and the officials have been at the forefront of all of this!”

Ezra 10:3

10:3 Therefore let us enact ¹⁸  a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in keeping with your counsel, my lord, ¹⁹  and that of those who respect ²⁰  the commandments of our God. And let it be done according to the law.

[1:4]  ¹ tn Heb “the men of his place.”

[2:1]  ² sn The list of names and numbers in this chapter of Ezra has a parallel account in Neh 7:6-73. The fact that the two lists do not always agree in specific details suggests that various textual errors have crept into the accounts during the transmission process.

[2:1]  ³ tn Heb “the sons of.”

[2:1]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term הָעֹלִים (ha’olim, “those who were going up” [Qal active participle]) refers to continual action in the past. Most translations render this as a simple past: “went up” (KJV), “came up” (RSV, ASV, NASV, NIV), “came” (NRSV). CEV paraphrases: “were on their way back.”

[2:1]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

[3:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “silver.”

[3:7]  ⁸ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[3:7]  ⁹ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[3:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to the sea”

[5:8]  ¹¹ tn Aram “stones of rolling.” The reference is apparently to stones too large to carry.

[6:8]  ¹² tn The words “of the work” are not in the Aramaic, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:14]  ¹³ tn Aram “in” or “by,” in the sense of accompaniment.

[8:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I placed in their mouth words.”

[8:17]  ¹⁵ tc The translation reads with the LXX and Vulgate וְאֶחָיו (vÿ’ekhayv, “and his brethren” = “relatives”; so NCV, NLT) rather than the reading אָחִיו (’akhiyv, “his brother”) of the MT.

[8:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in the place called.” This phrase has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[9:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the holy seed,” referring to the Israelites as God’s holy people.

[10:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “cut.”

[10:3]  ¹⁹ tn The MT vocalizes this word as a plural, which could be understood as a reference to God. But the context seems to suggest that a human lord is intended. The apparatus of BHS suggests repointing the word as a singular (“my lord”), but this is unnecessary. The plural (“my lords”) can be understood in an honorific sense even when a human being is in view. Most English versions regard this as a reference to Ezra, so the present translation supplies “your” before “counsel” to make this clear.

[10:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “who tremble at”; NAB, NIV “who fear.”