Ezra 1:5

The Exiles Prepare to Return to Jerusalem

1:5 Then the leaders ¹  of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and the Levites – all those whose mind God had stirred – got ready ²  to go up in order to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. ³ 

Ezra 4:10

4:10 and the rest of nations whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal ⁴  deported and settled in the cities ⁵  of Samaria and other places in Trans-Euphrates. ⁶ 

Ezra 4:14

4:14 In light of the fact that we are loyal to the king, ⁷  and since it does not seem appropriate to us that the king should sustain damage, ⁸  we are sending the king this information ⁹ 

Ezra 4:19

4:19 So I gave orders, ¹⁰  and it was determined ¹¹  that this city from long ago has been engaging in insurrection against kings. It has continually engaged in ¹²  rebellion and revolt.

Ezra 6:11

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 ¹³  on it, and his house is to be reduced ¹⁴  to a rubbish heap ¹⁵  for this indiscretion. ¹⁶ 

Ezra 10:7

10:7 A proclamation ¹⁷  was circulated ¹⁸  throughout Judah and Jerusalem ¹⁹  that all the exiles were to be assembled in Jerusalem.

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

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “arose.”

[1:5]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:10]  ⁴ tn Aram “Osnappar” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV), another name for Ashurbanipal.

[4:10]  sn Ashurbanipal succeeded his father Esarhaddon as king of Assyria in 669 B.C. Around 645 B.C. he sacked the city of Susa, capital of Elam, and apparently some of these people were exiled to Samaria and other places.

[4:10]  ⁵ tc The translation reads with the ancient versions the plural בְּקֻרְיַהּ (bÿquryah, “in the cities”) rather than the singular (“in the city”) of the MT.

[4:10]  ⁶ tn Aram “beyond the river.” In Ezra this term is a technical designation for the region west of the Euphrates river.

[4:14]  ⁷ tn Aram “we eat the salt of the palace.”

[4:14]  ⁸ tn Aram “the dishonor of the king is not fitting for us to see.”

[4:14]  ⁹ tn Aram “and we have made known.”

[4:19]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “from me was placed a decree.”

[4:19]  ¹¹ tn Aram “and they searched and found.”

[4:19]  ¹² tn Aram “are being done.”

[6:11]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “made.”

[6:11]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “a dunghill.”

[6:11]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “for this.”

[10:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “voice.”

[10:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “they sent.”

[10:7]  ¹⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.