Ezra 6:6

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!

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 ¹  and from these foreign wives.”

Ezra 6:21

6:21 The Israelites who were returning from the exile ate it, along with all those who had joined them ²  in separating themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to seek the Lord God of Israel.

Ezra 10:14

10:14 Let our leaders take steps ³  on behalf of all the assembly. Let all those in our towns who have married foreign women come at an appointed time, and with them the elders of each town and its judges, until the hot anger of our God is turned away from us in this matter.”

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 ⁴  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 6:20

6:20 The priests and the Levites had purified themselves, every last one, ⁵  and they all were ceremonially pure. They sacrificed the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their colleagues ⁶  the priests, and for themselves.

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 8:21

8:21 I called for a fast there by the Ahava Canal, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and seek from him a safe journey ⁷  for us, our children, and all our property.

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 ⁸  of Israel built it and completed it.

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 ⁹  has become intermingled with the local residents. Worse still, the leaders and the officials have been at the forefront of all of this!”

Ezra 10:13

10:13 However, the people are numerous and it is the rainy season. ¹⁰  We are unable to stand here outside. Furthermore, this business cannot be resolved in a day or two, for we have sinned greatly in this matter.

Ezra 3:3

3:3 They established the altar on its foundations, even though they were in terror of the local peoples, ¹¹  and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and the evening offerings.

Ezra 2:68

2:68 When they came to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, some of the family leaders ¹²  offered voluntary offerings for the temple of God in order to rebuild ¹³  it on its site.

Ezra 3:2

3:2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak ¹⁴  and his priestly colleagues ¹⁵  and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his colleagues ¹⁶  started to build ¹⁷  the altar of the God of Israel so they could offer burnt offerings on it as required by ¹⁸  the law of Moses the man of God.

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 ¹⁹  toward our iniquities and have given us a remnant such as 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 ²⁰  to restore the temple of our God and to raise ²¹  up its ruins and to give us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem. ²² 

Ezra 5:4

5:4 They ²³  also asked them, “What are the names of the men who are building this edifice?”

Ezra 10:15

10:15 Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah were ²⁴  against this, assisted by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite.

Ezra 4:13

4:13 Let the king also be aware that if this city is built and its walls are completed, no more tax, custom, or toll will be paid, and the royal treasury ²⁵  will suffer loss.

Ezra 4:16

4:16 We therefore are informing the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, you will not retain control ²⁶  of this portion of Trans-Euphrates.”

Ezra 9:5

9:5 At the time of the evening offering I got up from my self-abasement, ²⁷  with my tunic and robe torn, and then dropped to my knees and spread my hands to the Lord my God.

Ezra 9:15

9:15 O Lord God of Israel, you are righteous, for we are left as a remnant this day. Indeed, we stand before you in our guilt. However, because of this guilt ²⁸  no one can really stand before you.”

Ezra 2:63

2:63 The governor ²⁹  instructed them not to eat any of the sacred food until there was a priest who could consult ³⁰  the Urim and Thummim.

Ezra 5:9

5:9 We inquired of those elders, asking them, ‘Who gave you the authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?’

Ezra 6:4

6:4 with three layers of large stones ³¹  and one ³²  layer of timber. The expense is to be subsidized ³³  by the royal treasury. ³⁴ 

Ezra 3:9-10

3:9 So Jeshua appointed both his sons and his relatives, ³⁵  Kadmiel and his sons (the sons of Yehudah ³⁶ ), to take charge of the workers in the temple of God, along with the sons of Henadad, their sons, and their relatives ³⁷  the Levites. 3:10 When the builders established the Lord’s temple, the priests, ceremonially attired and with their clarions, ³⁸  and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with their cymbals, stood to praise the Lord according to the instructions left by ³⁹  King David of Israel. ⁴⁰ 

Ezra 4:12

4:12 Now ⁴¹  let the king be aware that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and odious city. ⁴²  They are completing its walls and repairing its foundations.

Ezra 1:5

The Exiles Prepare to Return to Jerusalem

1:5 Then the leaders ⁴³  of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and the Levites – all those whose mind God had stirred – got ready ⁴⁴  to go up in order to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. ⁴⁵ 

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, ⁴⁶  in accord with ⁴⁷  the book of Moses.

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. ⁴⁸  And they all took a solemn oath.

Ezra 1:2-3

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 ⁴⁹  for him in Jerusalem, ⁵⁰  which is in Judah. 1:3 Anyone from ⁵¹  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.

Ezra 2:61

2:61 And from among ⁵²  the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, and the descendants of Barzillai (who had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by that ⁵³  name).

Ezra 4:3

4:3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them, “You have no right ⁵⁴  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 5:3

5:3 At that time Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues came to them and asked, “Who gave you authority ⁵⁵  to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?” ⁵⁶ 

Ezra 7:6

7:6 This Ezra is the one who came up from Babylon. He was a scribe who was skilled in the law of Moses which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king supplied him with everything he requested, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.

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 8:15

The Exiles Travel to Jerusalem

8:15 I had them assemble ⁵⁷  at the canal ⁵⁸  that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I observed that the people and the priests were present, but I found no Levites there.

Ezra 9:8

9:8 “But now briefly ⁵⁹  we have received mercy from the Lord our God, in that he has left us a remnant and has given us a secure position ⁶⁰  in his holy place. Thus our God has enlightened our eyes ⁶¹  and has given us a little relief in our time of servitude.

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?

[10:11]  ¹ tn Heb “the peoples of the land.”

[6:21]  ² tn Heb “who had separated from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to them.”

[10:14]  ³ tn Heb “stand.”

[9:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.” So also in v. 2.

[6:20]  ⁵ 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.

[6:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “brothers.”

[8:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “a straight way.”

[5:11]  ⁸ sn This great king of Israel would, of course, be Solomon.

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

[10:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the time [is] rain showers.”

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

[2:68]  ¹² tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

[2:68]  ¹³ tn Heb “cause it to stand.”

[3:2]  ¹⁴ sn Jozadak (also in 3:8) is a variant spelling of Jehozadak.

[3:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “his brothers the priests.”

[3:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[3:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “arose and built.”

[3:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “written in.” Cf. v. 4.

[9:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “held back downwards from”; KJV “hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve” (NIV, NRSV, NLT all similar).

[9:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “has granted us reviving.”

[9:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “to cause to stand.”

[9:9]  ²² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:4]  ²³ tc The translation reads with one medieval Hebrew MS, the LXX, and the Syriac Peshitta אֲמַרוּ (’amaru, “they said”) rather than the reading אֲמַרְנָא (’amarna’, “we said”) of the MT.

[10:15]  ²⁴ tn Heb “stood.”

[4:13]  ²⁵ tn Aram “the treasury of kings.” The plural “kings” is Hebrew, not Aramaic. If the plural is intended in a numerical sense the reference is not just to Artaxerxes but to his successors as well. Some scholars understand this to be the plural of majesty, referring to Artaxerxes. See F. C. Fensham, Ezra and Nehemiah (NICOT), 74.

[4:16]  ²⁶ tn Aram “will not be to you.”

[9:5]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew word used here is a hapax legomenon. It refers to the self-abasement that accompanies religious sorrow and fasting.

[9:15]  ²⁸ tn Heb “this”; the referent (the guilt mentioned previously) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:63]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ tn Heb “to stand.”

[6:4]  ³¹ tn Aram “stones of rolling.”

[6:4]  ³² tc The translation follows the LXX reading חַד (khad, “one”) rather than the MT חֲדַת (khadat, “new”). If the MT reading “new” is understood to mean freshly cut timber that has not yet been seasoned it would seem to be an odd choice for construction material.

[6:4]  ³³ tn Aram “let be given.”

[6:4]  ³⁴ tn Aram “house.”

[3:9]  ³⁵ tn Heb “brothers.”

[3:9]  ³⁶ 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).

[3:9]  ³⁷ tn Heb “brothers.”

[3:10]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn Heb “according to the hands of.”

[3:10]  ⁴⁰ sn See Ps 107:1; 118:1, 29; 136:1. Cf. 2 Chr 5:13; 7:3; 20:21.

[4:12]  ⁴¹ tn The MT takes this word with the latter part of v. 11, but in English style it fits better with v. 12.

[4:12]  ⁴² sn Management of the provinces that were distantly removed from the capital was difficult, and insurrection in such places was a perennial problem. The language used in this report about Jerusalem (i.e., “rebellious,” “odious”) is intentionally inflammatory. It is calculated to draw immediate attention to the perceived problem.

[1:5]  ⁴³ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

[1:5]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “arose.”

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

[6:18]  ⁴⁷ tn Aram “according to the writing of.”

[10:5]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “to do according to this plan.”

[1:2]  ⁴⁹ 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]  ⁵⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:3]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “from all.”

[2:61]  ⁵² tc The translation reads וּמִן (umin, “and from”) rather than the reading וּמִבּנֵי (umibbÿney, “and from the sons of”) found in the MT.

[2:61]  ⁵³ tn Heb “their.”

[4:3]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “not to you and to us.”

[5:3]  ⁵⁵ tn Aram “who placed to you a command?” So also v. 9.

[5:3]  ⁵⁶ tn The exact meaning of the Aramaic word אֻשַּׁרְנָא (’ussarna’) here and in v. 9 is uncertain (BDB 1083 s.v.). The LXX and Vulgate understand it to mean “wall.” Here it is used in collocation with בַּיְתָא (bayta’, “house” as the temple of God), while in 5:3, 9 it is used in parallelism with this term. It might be related to the Assyrian noun ashurru (“wall”) or ashru (“sanctuary”; so BDB). F. Rosenthal, who translates the word “furnishings,” thinks that it probably enters Aramaic from Persian (Grammar, 62-63, §189).

[8:15]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “I gathered them.”

[8:15]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “river.” So also in vv. 21, 31.

[9:8]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “according to a little moment.”

[9:8]  ⁶⁰ 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]  ⁶¹ 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.