Ezra 2:63

2:63 The governor ¹  instructed them not to eat any of the sacred food until there was a priest who could consult ²  the Urim and Thummim.

Ezra 3:13

3:13 People were unable to tell the difference between the sound of joyous shouting and the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people were shouting so loudly ³  that the sound was heard a long way off.

Ezra 4:5

4:5 They were hiring advisers to oppose them, so as to frustrate their plans, throughout the time ⁴  of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius ⁵  of Persia. ⁶ 

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. ⁷ 

Ezra 5:16

5:16 Then this Sheshbazzar went and laid the foundations of the temple of God in Jerusalem. From that time to the present moment ⁸  it has been in the process of being rebuilt, although it is not yet finished.’

Ezra 9:4

9:4 Everyone who held the words of the God of Israel in awe ⁹  gathered around me because of the unfaithful acts of the people of the exile. ¹⁰  Devastated, I continued to sit there until the evening offering.

[2:63]  ¹ tn The Hebrew word תִּרְשָׁתָא (tirshata’) is an official title of the Persian governor in Judea, perhaps similar in meaning to “excellency” (BDB 1077 s.v.; HALOT 1798 s.v.; W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 395).

[2:63]  ² tn Heb “to stand.”

[3:13]  ³ tn Heb “a great shout.”

[4:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “all the days of.”

[4:5]  ⁵ sn Darius ruled Persia ca. 522-486 B.C.

[4:5]  ⁶ sn The purpose of the opening verses of this chapter is to summarize why the Jews returning from the exile were unable to complete the rebuilding of the temple more quickly than they did. The delay was due not to disinterest on their part but to the repeated obstacles that had been placed in their path by determined foes.

[4:24]  ⁷ sn Darius I Hystaspes ruled Persia ca. 522–486 b.c.

[5:16]  ⁸ tn Aram “from then and until now.”

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

[9:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the exile”; the words “the people” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.