Ezra 7:15

7:15 and to bring silver and gold which the king and his advisers have freely contributed to the God of Israel, who resides in Jerusalem,

Ezra 6:5

6:5 Furthermore let the gold and silver vessels of the temple of God, which Nebuchadnezzar brought from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, be returned and brought to their proper place in the temple in Jerusalem. Let them be deposited in the temple of God.’

Ezra 2:68

2:68 When they came to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, some of the family leaders ¹  offered voluntary offerings for the temple of God in order to rebuild ²  it on its site.

Ezra 4:24

4:24 So the work on the temple of God in Jerusalem came to a halt. It remained halted until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia. ³ 

Ezra 5:15-16

5:15 He said to him, “Take these vessels and go deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt in its proper location.” ⁴  5:16 Then this Sheshbazzar went and laid the foundations of the temple of God in Jerusalem. From that time to the present moment ⁵  it has been in the process of being rebuilt, although it is not yet finished.’

Ezra 6:18

6:18 They appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their divisions over the worship of God at Jerusalem, ⁶  in accord with ⁷  the book of Moses.

Ezra 7:16

7:16 along with all the silver and gold that you may collect ⁸  throughout all the province of Babylon and the contributions of the people and the priests for the temple of their God which is in Jerusalem.

Ezra 7:27

7:27 ⁹ Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who so moved in the heart of the king to so honor the temple of the Lord which is in Jerusalem!

Ezra 8:29

8:29 Be careful with them and protect them, until you weigh them out before the leading priests and the Levites and the family leaders of Israel in Jerusalem, ¹⁰  in the storerooms of the temple of the Lord.”

Ezra 1:2-5

1:2 “Thus says King Cyrus of Persia:

“‘The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has instructed me to build a temple ¹¹  for him in Jerusalem, ¹²  which is in Judah. 1:3 Anyone from ¹³  his people among you (may his God be with him!) may go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may build the temple of the Lord God of Israel – he is the God who is in Jerusalem. 1:4 Anyone who survives in any of those places where he is a resident foreigner must be helped by his neighbors ¹⁴  with silver, gold, equipment, and animals, along with voluntary offerings for the temple of God which is in Jerusalem.’”

The Exiles Prepare to Return to Jerusalem

1:5 Then the leaders ¹⁵  of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and the Levites – all those whose mind God had stirred – got ready ¹⁶  to go up in order to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. ¹⁷ 

Ezra 5:2

5:2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak began ¹⁸  to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

Ezra 6:3

6:3 In the first year of his reign, ¹⁹  King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: ²⁰  ‘Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place. ²¹  Its height is to be ninety feet and its width ninety ²²  feet, ²³ 

Ezra 6:9

6:9 Whatever is needed – whether oxen or rams or lambs or burnt offerings for the God of heaven or wheat or salt or wine or oil, as required by ²⁴  the priests who are in Jerusalem – must be given to them daily without any neglect,

Ezra 6:12

6:12 May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation ²⁵  who reaches out ²⁶  to cause such change so as to destroy this temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have given orders. Let them be carried out with precision!”

Ezra 7:17

7:17 With this money you should be sure to purchase bulls, rams, and lambs, along with the appropriate ²⁷  meal offerings and libations. You should bring them to the altar of the temple of your God which is in Jerusalem.

Ezra 5:14

5:14 Even the gold and silver vessels of the temple of God that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and had brought to the palace ²⁸  of Babylon – even those things King Cyrus brought from the palace of Babylon and presented ²⁹  to a man by the name of Sheshbazzar whom he had appointed as governor.

Ezra 5:17

5:17 “Now if the king is so inclined, ³⁰  let a search be conducted in the royal archives ³¹  there in Babylon in order to determine whether King Cyrus did in fact issue orders for this temple of God to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us a decision concerning this matter.”

[2:68]  ¹ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

[2:68]  ² tn Heb “cause it to stand.”

[4:24]  ³ sn Darius I Hystaspes ruled Persia ca. 522–486 b.c.

[5:15]  ⁴ tn Aram “upon its place.”

[5:16]  ⁵ tn Aram “from then and until now.”

[6:18]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:18]  ⁷ tn Aram “according to the writing of.”

[7:16]  ⁸ tn Aram “find.”

[7:27]  ⁹ sn At this point the language of the book reverts from Aramaic (7:12-26) back to Hebrew.

[8:29]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “house.” The Hebrew noun בַּיִת (bayit, “house”) is often used in reference to the temple of Yahweh (BDB 108 s.v. 1.a). This is also frequent elsewhere in Ezra and Nehemiah (e.g., Ezra 1:3, 4, 5, 7; 2:68; 3:8, 9, 11, 12; 4:3; 6:22; 7:27; 8:17, 25, 29, 30, 33, 36; 9:9; 10:1, 6, 9).

[1:2]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “from all.”

[1:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the men of his place.”

[1:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

[1:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “arose.”

[1:5]  ¹⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:2]  ¹⁸ tn Aram “arose and began.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a single concept.

[6:3]  ¹⁹ tn Aram “In the first year of Cyrus the king.”

[6:3]  ²⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:3]  ²¹ tn Aram “raised”; or perhaps “retained” (so NASB; cf. NLT), referring to the original foundations of Solomon’s temple.

[6:3]  ²² tc The Syriac Peshitta reads “twenty cubits” here, a measurement probably derived from dimensions given elsewhere for Solomon’s temple. According to 1 Kgs 6:2 the dimensions of the Solomonic temple were as follows: length, 60 cubits; width, 20 cubits; height, 30 cubits. Since one would expect the dimensions cited in Ezra 6:3 to correspond to those of Solomon’s temple, it is odd that no dimension for length is provided. The Syriac has apparently harmonized the width dimension provided here (“twenty cubits”) to that given in 1 Kgs 6:2.

[6:3]  ²³ tn Aram “Its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) long.

[6:9]  ²⁴ tn Aram “according to the word of.”

[6:12]  ²⁵ tn Aram “people.”

[6:12]  ²⁶ tn Aram “who sends forth his hand.”

[7:17]  ²⁷ tn Aram “their meal offerings and their libations.”

[5:14]  ²⁸ tn Or “temple.”

[5:14]  ²⁹ tn Aram “they were given.”

[5:17]  ³⁰ tn Aram “if upon the king it is good.”

[5:17]  ³¹ tn Aram “the house of the treasures of the king.”