Ezra 10:12

10:12 All the assembly replied in a loud voice: “We will do just as you have said! ¹ 

Ezra 10:5

10:5 So Ezra got up and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel take an oath to carry out this plan. ²  And they all took a solemn oath.

Ezra 10:11

10:11 Now give praise to the Lord God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the local residents ³  and from these foreign wives.”

Ezra 9:13

9:13 “Everything that has happened to us has come about because of our wicked actions and our great guilt. Even so, our God, you have exercised restraint ⁴  toward our iniquities and have given us a remnant such as this.

Ezra 10:16

10:16 So the exiles proceeded accordingly. Ezra the priest separated out ⁵  by name men who were leaders in their family groups. ⁶  They sat down to consider this matter on the first day of the tenth month,

Ezra 6:12

6:12 May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation ⁷  who reaches out ⁸  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 7:18

7:18 You may do whatever seems appropriate to you and your colleagues ⁹  with the rest of the silver and the gold, in keeping with the will of your God.

Ezra 6:13

The Temple Is Finally Dedicated

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. ¹⁰ 

Ezra 6:22

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 ¹¹  of the king of Assyria ¹²  toward them, so that he assisted ¹³  them in the work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.

Ezra 7:23

7:23 Everything that the God of heaven has required should be precisely done for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should there be wrath ¹⁴  against the empire of the king and his sons?

Ezra 9:1

A Prayer of Ezra

9:1 Now when these things had been completed, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the local residents ¹⁵  who practice detestable things similar to those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

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, ¹⁶  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. ¹⁷ 

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 ¹⁸  has become intermingled with the local residents. Worse still, the leaders and the officials have been at the forefront of all of this!”

Ezra 9:9

9:9 Although we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our servitude. He has extended kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, in that he has revived us ¹⁹  to restore the temple of our God and to raise ²⁰  up its ruins and to give us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem. ²¹ 

Ezra 9:11

9:11 which you commanded us through your servants the prophets with these words: ²²  ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land defiled by the impurities of the local residents! ²³  With their abominations they have filled it from one end to the other with their filthiness.

Ezra 1:8

1:8 King Cyrus of Persia entrusted ²⁴  them to ²⁵  Mithredath ²⁶  the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar ²⁷  the leader of the Judahite exiles. ²⁸ 

Ezra 3:6

3:6 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. ²⁹ 

Ezra 4:4

4:4 Then the local people ³⁰  began to discourage ³¹  the people of Judah and to dishearten them from building.

Ezra 4:22

4:22 Exercise appropriate caution so that there is no negligence in this matter. Why should danger increase to the point that kings sustain damage?”

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. ³² 

Ezra 4:3

4:3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them, “You have no right ³³  to help us build the temple of our God. We will build it by ourselves for the Lord God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.”

Ezra 5:11

5:11 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 ³⁴  of Israel built it and completed it.

Ezra 7:21

7:21 “I, King Artaxerxes, hereby issue orders to all the treasurers of ³⁵  Trans-Euphrates, that you precisely execute all that Ezra the priestly scribe of the law of the God of heaven may request of you –

Ezra 9:14

9:14 Shall we once again break your commandments and intermarry with these abominable peoples? Would you not be so angered by us that you would wipe us out, with no survivor or remnant?

Ezra 10:6

10:6 Then Ezra got up from in front of the temple of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he stayed ³⁶  there, he did not eat food or drink water, for he was in mourning over the infidelity of the exiles.

Ezra 4:1

Opposition to the Building Efforts

4:1 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin learned that the former exiles ³⁷  were building a temple for the Lord God of Israel,

Ezra 9:4

9:4 Everyone who held the words of the God of Israel in awe ³⁸  gathered around me because of the unfaithful acts of the people of the exile. ³⁹  Devastated, I continued to sit there until the evening offering.

Ezra 10:10

10:10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have behaved in an unfaithful manner by taking foreign wives! This has contributed to the guilt of Israel.

Ezra 1:2

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 ⁴⁰  for him in Jerusalem, ⁴¹  which is in Judah.

Ezra 3:2

3:2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak ⁴²  and his priestly colleagues ⁴³  and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his colleagues ⁴⁴  started to build ⁴⁵  the altar of the God of Israel so they could offer burnt offerings on it as required by ⁴⁶  the law of Moses the man of God.

Ezra 3:10

3:10 When the builders established the Lord’s temple, the priests, ceremonially attired and with their clarions, ⁴⁷  and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with their cymbals, stood to praise the Lord according to the instructions left by ⁴⁸  King David of Israel. ⁴⁹ 

Ezra 4:2

4:2 they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders ⁵⁰  and said to them, “Let us help you build, ⁵¹  for like you we seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him ⁵²  from the time ⁵³  of King Esarhaddon ⁵⁴  of Assyria, who brought us here.” ⁵⁵ 

Ezra 6:21

6:21 The Israelites who were returning from the exile ate it, along with all those who had joined them ⁵⁶  in separating themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to seek the Lord God of Israel.

Ezra 7:28

7:28 He has also conferred his favor on me before the king, his advisers, and all the influential leaders of the king. I gained strength as the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.

Ezra 9:8

9:8 “But now briefly ⁵⁷  we have received mercy from the Lord our God, in that he has left us a remnant and has given us a secure position ⁵⁸  in his holy place. Thus our God has enlightened our eyes ⁵⁹  and has given us a little relief in our time of servitude.

Ezra 10:2-3

10:2 Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, from the descendants of Elam, ⁶⁰  addressed Ezra:

“We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying ⁶¹  foreign women from the local peoples. ⁶²  Nonetheless, there is still hope for Israel in this regard. ⁶³  10:3 Therefore let us enact ⁶⁴  a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in keeping with your counsel, my lord, ⁶⁵  and that of those who respect ⁶⁶  the commandments of our God. And let it be done according to the law.

[10:12]  ¹ tn Heb “thus according to your word [singular = Qere] concerning us, to do.”

[10:5]  ² tn Heb “to do according to this plan.”

[10:11]  ³ tn Heb “the peoples of the land.”

[9:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “held back downwards from”; KJV “hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve” (NIV, NRSV, NLT all similar).

[10:16]  ⁵ tc The translation reads the Hiphil singular וַיַּבְדֵּל לוֹ (vayyavdel lo, “separated for himself”) rather than the Niphal plural וַיִּבָּדְלוּ (vayyibbadÿlu, “were separated”) of the MT.

[10:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers, to the house of their fathers, and all of them by name.”

[6:12]  ⁷ tn Aram “people.”

[6:12]  ⁸ tn Aram “who sends forth his hand.”

[7:18]  ⁹ tn Aram “brothers.”

[6:13]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “sent.”

[6:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “heart.”

[6:22]  ¹² sn The expression “king of Assyria” is anachronistic, since Assyria fell in 612 b.c., long before the events of this chapter. Perhaps the expression is intended subtly to contrast earlier kings of Assyria who were hostile toward Israel with this Persian king who showed them favor.

[6:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “to strengthen their hands.”

[7:23]  ¹⁴ tn The Aramaic word used here for “wrath” (קְצַף, qÿtsaf; cf. Heb קָצַף, qatsaf) is usually used in the Hebrew Bible for God’s anger as opposed to human anger (but contra Eccl 5:17 [MT 5:16]; Esth 1:18; 2 Kgs 3:27). The fact that this word is used in v. 23 may have theological significance, pointing to the possibility of divine judgment if the responsible parties should fail to make available these provisions for the temple.

[9:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.” So also in v. 2.

[5:8]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “stones of rolling.” The reference is apparently to stones too large to carry.

[6:8]  ¹⁷ tn The words “of the work” are not in the Aramaic, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the holy seed,” referring to the Israelites as God’s holy people.

[9:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “has granted us reviving.”

[9:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to cause to stand.”

[9:9]  ²¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[9:11]  ²² tn Heb “through your servants the prophets, saying.”

[9:11]  ²³ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

[1:8]  ²⁴ tn Heb “brought them forth.”

[1:8]  ²⁵ tn Heb “upon the hand of.”

[1:8]  ²⁶ sn A Persian name meaning “gift of Mithras.” See HALOT 656 s.v. מִתְרְדָת.

[1:8]  ²⁷ sn A Babylonian name with the probable meaning “Shamash protect the father.” See HALOT 1664-65 s.v. שֵׁשְׁבַּצַּר.

[1:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Sheshbazzar the prince to Judah”; TEV, CEV “the governor of Judah.”

[3:6]  ²⁹ tn Or “the foundation of the LORD’s temple was not yet laid.

[4:4]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the people of the land.” Elsewhere this expression sometimes has a negative connotation, referring to a lay population that was less zealous for Judaism than it should have been. Here, however, it seems to refer to the resident population of the area without any negative connotation.

[4:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “were making slack the hands of.”

[4:24]  ³² sn Darius I Hystaspes ruled Persia ca. 522–486 b.c.

[4:3]  ³³ tn Heb “not to you and to us.”

[5:11]  ³⁴ sn This great king of Israel would, of course, be Solomon.

[7:21]  ³⁵ tn Aram “who are in.”

[10:6]  ³⁶ tc The translation reads וַיָּלֶן (vayyalen, “and he stayed”) rather than the reading וַיֵּלֶךְ (vayyelekh, “and he went”) of the MT. Cf. the LXX.

[4:1]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the sons of the exile.”

[9:4]  ³⁸ tn Heb “who trembled at the words of the God of Israel.”

[9:4]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the exile”; the words “the people” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:2]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:2]  ⁴² sn Jozadak (also in 3:8) is a variant spelling of Jehozadak.

[3:2]  ⁴³ tn Heb “his brothers the priests.”

[3:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[3:2]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “arose and built.”

[3:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “written in.” Cf. v. 4.

[3:10]  ⁴⁷ 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]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “according to the hands of.”

[3:10]  ⁴⁹ sn See Ps 107:1; 118:1, 29; 136:1. Cf. 2 Chr 5:13; 7:3; 20:21.

[4:2]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.” So also in v. 3.

[4:2]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “Let us build with you.”

[4:2]  ⁵² tc The translation reads with the Qere, a Qumran MS, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Arabic version וְלוֹ (vÿlo, “and him”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, וְלֹא (vÿlo’, “and not”).

[4:2]  ⁵³ tn Heb “days.”

[4:2]  ⁵⁴ sn Esarhaddon was king of Assyria ca. 681-669 b.c.

[4:2]  ⁵⁵ sn The Assyrian policy had been to resettle Samaria with peoples from other areas (cf. 2 Kgs 17:24-34). These immigrants acknowledged Yahweh as well as other deities in some cases. The Jews who returned from the Exile regarded them with suspicion and were not hospitable to their offer of help in rebuilding the temple.

[6:21]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “who had separated from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to them.”

[9:8]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “according to a little moment.”

[9:8]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “a peg” or “tent peg.” The imagery behind this word is drawn from the experience of nomads who put down pegs as they pitched their tents and made camp after times of travel.

[9:8]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “to cause our eyes to shine.” The expression is a figure of speech for “to revive.” See DCH 1:160 s.v. אור Hi.7.

[10:2]  ⁶⁰ tc The translation reads with the Qere, many medieval Hebrew MSS, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate עֵילָם (’elam, “Elam”) rather than the reading עוֹלָם (’olam, “eternity”) found in the MT.

[10:2]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “in that we have given a dwelling to.” So also in vv. 14, 17, 18.

[10:2]  ⁶² tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

[10:2]  ⁶³ tn Heb “upon this.”

[10:3]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “cut.”

[10:3]  ⁶⁵ 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]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “who tremble at”; NAB, NIV “who fear.”