Ezra 3:6-11
Konteks3:6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. However, the Lord’s temple was not at that time established. 1
3:7 So they provided money 2 for the masons and carpenters, and food, beverages, and olive oil for the people of Sidon 3 and Tyre, 4 so that they would bring cedar timber from Lebanon to the seaport 5 at Joppa, in accord with the edict of King Cyrus of Persia. 3:8 In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem, 6 in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak initiated the work, 7 along with the rest of their associates, 8 the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed 9 the Levites who were at least twenty years old 10 to take charge of the work on the Lord’s temple. 3:9 So Jeshua appointed both his sons and his relatives, 11 Kadmiel and his sons (the sons of Yehudah 12 ), to take charge of the workers in the temple of God, along with the sons of Henadad, their sons, and their relatives 13 the Levites. 3:10 When the builders established the Lord’s temple, the priests, ceremonially attired and with their clarions, 14 and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with their cymbals, stood to praise the Lord according to the instructions left by 15 King David of Israel. 16 3:11 With antiphonal response they sang, 17 praising and glorifying the Lord:
“For he is good;
his loyal love toward Israel is forever.”
All the people gave a loud 18 shout as they praised the Lord when the temple of the Lord was established.
Ezra 5:11-17
Konteks5:11 They responded to us in the following way: ‘We are servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the temple which was previously built many years ago. A great king 19 of Israel built it and completed it. 5:12 But after our ancestors 20 angered the God of heaven, he delivered them into the hands 21 of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and exiled the people to Babylon. 22 5:13 But in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon, 23 King Cyrus enacted a decree to rebuild this temple of God. 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 24 of Babylon – even those things King Cyrus brought from the palace of Babylon and presented 25 to a man by the name of Sheshbazzar whom he had appointed as governor. 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.” 26 5:16 Then this Sheshbazzar went and laid the foundations of the temple of God in Jerusalem. From that time to the present moment 27 it has been in the process of being rebuilt, although it is not yet finished.’
5:17 “Now if the king is so inclined, 28 let a search be conducted in the royal archives 29 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.”
Ezra 6:5-22
Konteks6:5 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.’
6:6 “Now Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar Bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials of Trans-Euphrates – all of you stay far away from there! 6:7 Leave the work on this temple of God alone. 30 Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this temple of God in its proper place.
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. 31 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 32 the priests who are in Jerusalem – must be given to them daily without any neglect, 6:10 so that they may be offering incense to the God of heaven and may be praying for the good fortune of the king and his family. 33
6:11 “I hereby give orders that if anyone changes this directive a beam is to be pulled out from his house and he is to be raised up and impaled 34 on it, and his house is to be reduced 35 to a rubbish heap 36 for this indiscretion. 37 6:12 May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation 38 who reaches out 39 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!”
6:13 Then Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues acted accordingly – with precision, just as Darius the king had given instructions. 40 6:14 The elders of the Jews continued building and prospering, while at the same time 41 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. 6:15 They finished this temple on the third day of the month Adar, which is the sixth 42 year of the reign of King Darius.
6:16 The people 43 of Israel – the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles 44 – observed the dedication of this temple of God with joy. 6:17 For the dedication of this temple of God they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve male goats for the sin of all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. 6:18 They appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their divisions over the worship of God at Jerusalem, 45 in accord with 46 the book of Moses. 6:19 47 The exiles 48 observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. 6:20 The priests and the Levites had purified themselves, every last one, 49 and they all were ceremonially pure. They sacrificed the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their colleagues 50 the priests, and for themselves. 6:21 The Israelites who were returning from the exile ate it, along with all those who had joined them 51 in separating themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to seek the Lord God of Israel. 6:22 They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the Lord had given them joy and had changed the opinion 52 of the king of Assyria 53 toward them, so that he assisted 54 them in the work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.
[3:6] 1 tn Or “the foundation of the
[3:7] 3 map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[3:7] 4 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[3:8] 6 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[3:8] 7 tn Heb “began”; the phrase “the work” is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
[3:8] 8 tn Heb “their brothers.”
[3:8] 10 tn Heb “from twenty years and upward.”
[3:9] 12 sn The name יְהוּדָה (Yehudah; cf. KJV, ASV, NASB “Judah”) is probably a variant of Hodaviah (see Ezra 2:40; cf. NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
[3:10] 14 sn This was a long, straight, metallic instrument used for signal calls, rather than the traditional ram’s horn (both instruments are typically translated “trumpet” by English versions).
[3:10] 15 tn Heb “according to the hands of.”
[3:10] 16 sn See Ps 107:1; 118:1, 29; 136:1. Cf. 2 Chr 5:13; 7:3; 20:21.
[3:11] 17 tn Heb “they answered.”
[5:11] 19 sn This great king of Israel would, of course, be Solomon.
[5:12] 21 tn Aram “hand” (singular).
[5:12] 22 sn A reference to the catastrophic events of 586
[5:13] 23 sn Cyrus was actually a Persian king, but when he conquered Babylon in 539
[5:14] 25 tn Aram “they were given.”
[5:15] 26 tn Aram “upon its place.”
[5:16] 27 tn Aram “from then and until now.”
[5:17] 28 tn Aram “if upon the king it is good.”
[5:17] 29 tn Aram “the house of the treasures of the king.”
[6:7] 30 tc For the MT reading “the work on this temple of God” the LXX reads “the servant of the Lord Zurababel” [= Zerubbabel].
[6:8] 31 tn The words “of the work” are not in the Aramaic, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[6:9] 32 tn Aram “according to the word of.”
[6:10] 33 tn Aram “for the life of the king and his sons.”
[6:11] 34 sn The practice referred to in v. 11 has been understood in various ways: hanging (cf. 1 Esd 6:32 and KJV); flogging (cf. NEB, NLT); impalement (BDB 1091 s.v. זְקַף; HALOT 1914 s.v. מחא hitpe; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). The latter seems the most likely.
[6:11] 36 tn Aram “a dunghill.”
[6:12] 39 tn Aram “who sends forth his hand.”
[6:14] 41 tn Aram “in” or “by,” in the sense of accompaniment.
[6:15] 42 sn The sixth year of the reign of Darius would be ca. 516
[6:16] 44 tn Aram “sons of the exile.”
[6:18] 45 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[6:18] 46 tn Aram “according to the writing of.”
[6:19] 47 sn At this point the language of the book reverts from Aramaic (4:8–6:18) back to Hebrew. Aramaic will again be used in Ezra 7:12-26.
[6:19] 48 tn Heb “the sons of the exile.” So also in v. 20.
[6:20] 49 tn Heb “as one.” The expression is best understood as referring to the unity shown by the religious leaders in preparing themselves for the observance of Passover. On the meaning of the Hebrew phrase see DCH 1:182 s.v. אֶחָד 3b. See also HALOT 30 s.v. אֶחָד 5.
[6:21] 51 tn Heb “who had separated from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to them.”
[6:22] 53 sn The expression “king of Assyria” is anachronistic, since Assyria fell in 612
