Ezra 1:2-4

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 ¹  for him in Jerusalem, ²  which is in Judah. 1:3 Anyone from ³  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. 1:4 Anyone who survives in any of those places where he is a resident foreigner must be helped by his neighbors ⁴  with silver, gold, equipment, and animals, along with voluntary offerings for the temple of God which is in Jerusalem.’”

Ezra 2:64-65

2:64 The entire group numbered 42,360, ⁵  2:65 not counting ⁶  their male and female servants, who numbered 7,337. They also had 200 male and female singers

Ezra 3:2

3:2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak ⁷  and his priestly colleagues ⁸  and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his colleagues ⁹  started to build ¹⁰  the altar of the God of Israel so they could offer burnt offerings on it as required by ¹¹  the law of Moses the man of God.

Ezra 5:1

Tattenai Appeals to Darius

5:1 Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son ¹²  of Iddo ¹³  prophesied concerning the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem ¹⁴  in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.

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

[1:3]  ³ tn Heb “from all.”

[1:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “the men of his place.”

[2:64]  ⁵ sn The same total is given in Neh 7:66, but it is difficult to understand how this number is reached, since the numbers of people listed in the constituent groups do not add up to 42,360. The list in vv. 3-60 apparently is not intended to be exhaustive, but the basis of the selectivity is unclear.

[2:65]  ⁶ tn Heb “besides” or “in addition to.”

[3:2]  ⁷ sn Jozadak (also in 3:8) is a variant spelling of Jehozadak.

[3:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “his brothers the priests.”

[3:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[3:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “arose and built.”

[3:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “written in.” Cf. v. 4.

[5:1]  ¹² tn Aram “son.” According to Zech 1:1 he was actually the grandson of Iddo.

[5:1]  ¹³ tn Aram “and Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo the prophet.”

[5:1]  ¹⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.