Ezra 8:29

8:29 Be careful with them and protect them, until you weigh them out before the leading priests and the Levites and the family leaders of Israel in Jerusalem, ¹  in the storerooms of the temple of the Lord.”

Ezra 10:8

10:8 Everyone who did not come within three days would thereby forfeit all his property, in keeping with the counsel of the officials and the elders. Furthermore, he himself would be excluded from the assembly of the exiles.

Ezra 10:14

10:14 Let our leaders take steps ²  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 9:2

9:2 Indeed, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race ³  has become intermingled with the local residents. Worse still, the leaders and the officials have been at the forefront of all of this!”

Ezra 9:1

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 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 6:7

6:7 Leave the work on this temple of God alone. ⁵  Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this temple of God in its proper place.

Ezra 2:2

2:2 They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.

The number of Israelites ⁶  was as follows: ⁷ 

Ezra 2:68

2:68 When they came to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, some of the family leaders ⁸  offered voluntary offerings for the temple of God in order to rebuild ⁹  it on its site.

Ezra 8:16

8:16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, ¹⁰  Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, and Joiarib and Elnathan, who were teachers.

Ezra 1:8

1:8 King Cyrus of Persia entrusted ¹¹  them to ¹²  Mithredath ¹³  the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar ¹⁴  the leader of the Judahite exiles. ¹⁵ 

Ezra 8:1

The Leaders Who Returned with Ezra

8:1 These are the leaders ¹⁶  and those enrolled with them by genealogy who were coming up with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:

Ezra 8:24

8:24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, together with ¹⁷  Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers, ¹⁸ 

Ezra 6:14

6:14 The elders of the Jews continued building and prospering, while at the same time ¹⁹  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.

Ezra 7:25

7:25 “Now you, Ezra, in keeping with the wisdom of your God which you possess, ²⁰  appoint judges ²¹  and court officials who can arbitrate cases on behalf of all the people who are in Trans-Euphrates who know the laws of your God. Those who do not know this law should be taught.

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 1:5

The Exiles Prepare to Return to Jerusalem

1:5 Then the leaders ²²  of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and the Levites – all those whose mind God had stirred – got ready ²³  to go up in order to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. ²⁴ 

Ezra 2:62

2:62 They ²⁵  searched for their records in the genealogical materials, but did not find them. ²⁶  They were therefore excluded ²⁷  from the priesthood.

Ezra 4:8

4:8 Rehum the commander ²⁸  and Shimshai the scribe ²⁹  wrote a letter concerning ³⁰  Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:

Ezra 5:5

5:5 But God was watching over ³¹  the elders of Judah, and they were not stopped ³²  until a report could be dispatched ³³  to Darius and a letter could be sent back concerning this.

Ezra 10:7

10:7 A proclamation ³⁴  was circulated ³⁵  throughout Judah and Jerusalem ³⁶  that all the exiles were to be assembled in Jerusalem.

Ezra 3:12

3:12 Many of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders ³⁷  – older people who had seen with their own eyes the former temple while it was still established ³⁸  – were weeping loudly, ³⁹  and many others raised their voice in a joyous shout.

Ezra 4:2-3

4:2 they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders ⁴⁰  and said to them, “Let us help you build, ⁴¹  for like you we seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him ⁴²  from the time ⁴³  of King Esarhaddon ⁴⁴  of Assyria, who brought us here.” ⁴⁵  4:3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them, “You have no right ⁴⁶  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 4:15

4:15 so that he may initiate a search of the records ⁴⁷  of his predecessors ⁴⁸  and discover in those records ⁴⁹  that this city is rebellious ⁵⁰  and injurious to both kings and provinces, producing internal revolts ⁵¹  from long ago. ⁵²  It is for this very reason that this city was destroyed.

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 8:17

8:17 I sent them to Iddo, who was the leader in the place called Casiphia. I told them ⁵³  what to say to Iddo and his relatives, ⁵⁴  who were the temple servants in ⁵⁵  Casiphia, so they would bring us attendants for the temple of our God.

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 ⁵⁶  for us, our children, and all our property.

Ezra 10:16

10:16 So the exiles proceeded accordingly. Ezra the priest separated out ⁵⁷  by name men who were leaders in their family groups. ⁵⁸  They sat down to consider this matter on the first day of the tenth month,

Ezra 3:8

3:8 In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem, ⁵⁹  in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak initiated the work, ⁶⁰  along with the rest of their associates, ⁶¹  the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed ⁶²  the Levites who were at least twenty years old ⁶³  to take charge of the work on the Lord’s temple.

[8:29]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:14]  ² tn Heb “stand.”

[9:2]  ³ tn Heb “the holy seed,” referring to the Israelites as God’s holy people.

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

[6:7]  ⁵ tc For the MT reading “the work on this temple of God” the LXX reads “the servant of the Lord Zurababel” [= Zerubbabel].

[2:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “men of the people of Israel.”

[2:2]  ⁷ tn The words “was as follows” are not in the Hebrew text but are used in the translation for clarity.

[2:68]  ⁸ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

[2:68]  ⁹ tn Heb “cause it to stand.”

[8:16]  ¹⁰ tc The name “Elnathan” occurs twice in this list. Some, assuming an accidental repetition, would include it only once (cf. NAB).

[1:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “brought them forth.”

[1:8]  ¹² tn Heb “upon the hand of.”

[1:8]  ¹³ sn A Persian name meaning “gift of Mithras.” See HALOT 656 s.v. מִתְרְדָת.

[1:8]  ¹⁴ sn A Babylonian name with the probable meaning “Shamash protect the father.” See HALOT 1664-65 s.v. שֵׁשְׁבַּצַּר.

[1:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Sheshbazzar the prince to Judah”; TEV, CEV “the governor of Judah.”

[8:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the heads of their families.”

[8:24]  ¹⁷ tc The translation reads וַחֲשַׁבְיָה וְשֵׁרֵבְיָה (vÿsherevÿyah vakhashavyah, “and Sherebiah and Hashabiah”) rather than the reading חֲשַׁבְיָה לְשֵׁרֵבְיָה (lÿsherevyah khashavyah, “to Sherebiah Hashabiah”) of the MT.

[8:24]  ¹⁸ tn Or “relatives”; or “colleagues” (cf. NLT “ten other priests”).

[6:14]  ¹⁹ tn Aram “in” or “by,” in the sense of accompaniment.

[7:25]  ²⁰ tn Aram “in your hand.”

[7:25]  ²¹ tc For the MT reading שָׁפְטִין (shoftim, “judges”) the LXX uses the noun γραμματεῖς (grammatei", “scribes”).

[1:5]  ²² tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

[1:5]  ²³ tn Heb “arose.”

[1:5]  ²⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:62]  ²⁵ tn Heb “these.”

[2:62]  ²⁶ tn Heb “their records were searched for in the genealogical materials, but were not found.” This passive construction has been translated as active for stylistic reasons.

[2:62]  ²⁷ tn Heb “they were desecrated.”

[4:8]  ²⁸ tn Aram “lord of the command.” So also in vv. 9, 17.

[4:8]  ²⁹ sn Like Rehum, Shimshai was apparently a fairly high-ranking official charged with overseeing Persian interests in this part of the empire. His title was “scribe” or “secretary,” but in a more elevated political sense than that word sometimes has elsewhere. American governmental titles such as “Secretary of State” perhaps provide an analogy in that the word “secretary” can have a broad range of meaning.

[4:8]  ³⁰ tn Or perhaps “against.”

[5:5]  ³¹ tn Aram “the eye of their God was on.” The idiom describes the attentive care that one exercises in behalf of the object of his concern.

[5:5]  ³² tn Aram “they did not stop them.”

[5:5]  ³³ tn Aram “[could] go.” On this form see F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 58, §169.

[10:7]  ³⁴ tn Heb “voice.”

[10:7]  ³⁵ tn Heb “they sent.”

[10:7]  ³⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:12]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

[3:12]  ³⁸ sn The temple had been destroyed some fifty years earlier by the Babylonians in 586 b.c.

[3:12]  ³⁹ tn Heb “with a great voice.”

[4:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.” So also in v. 3.

[4:2]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Let us build with you.”

[4:2]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ tn Heb “days.”

[4:2]  ⁴⁴ sn Esarhaddon was king of Assyria ca. 681-669 b.c.

[4:2]  ⁴⁵ 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.

[4:3]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “not to you and to us.”

[4:15]  ⁴⁷ tn Aram “the book of the minutes.”

[4:15]  ⁴⁸ tn Aram “of your fathers.”

[4:15]  ⁴⁹ tn Aram “discover…and learn.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a single concept.

[4:15]  ⁵⁰ tn Aram “is a rebellious city.”

[4:15]  ⁵¹ tn Aram “revolts they are making in its midst.”

[4:15]  ⁵² tn Aram “from olden days.” So also in v. 19.

[8:17]  ⁵³ tn Heb “I placed in their mouth words.”

[8:17]  ⁵⁴ tc The translation reads with the LXX and Vulgate וְאֶחָיו (vÿ’ekhayv, “and his brethren” = “relatives”; so NCV, NLT) rather than the reading אָחִיו (’akhiyv, “his brother”) of the MT.

[8:17]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “in the place called.” This phrase has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[8:21]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “a straight way.”

[10:16]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers, to the house of their fathers, and all of them by name.”

[3:8]  ⁵⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:8]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “began”; the phrase “the work” is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[3:8]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “their brothers.”

[3:8]  ⁶² tn Heb “stood.”

[3:8]  ⁶³ tn Heb “from twenty years and upward.”