Ezra 7:9

7:9 On the first day of the first month he had determined to make ¹  the ascent from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he arrived at Jerusalem, ²  for the good hand of 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 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 ³  of the king of Assyria ⁴  toward them, so that he assisted ⁵  them in the work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.

Ezra 8:18

8:18 Due to the fact that the good hand of our God was on us, they brought us a skilled man, from the descendants of Mahli the son of Levi son of Israel. This man was Sherebiah, ⁶  who was accompanied by his sons and brothers, ⁷  18 men,

Ezra 8:22

8:22 I was embarrassed to request soldiers and horsemen from the king to protect us from the enemy ⁸  along the way, because we had said to the king, “The good hand of our God is on everyone who is seeking him, but his great anger ⁹  is against everyone who forsakes him.”

Ezra 8:31

8:31 On the twelfth day of the first month we began traveling from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from our enemy and from bandits ¹⁰  along the way.

[7:9]  ¹ tc The translation reads יִסַּד (yissad, “he appointed” [= determined]) rather than the reading יְסֻד (yÿsud, “foundation”) of the MT. (The words “to make” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.)

[7:9]  ² sn Apparently it took the caravan almost four months to make the five hundred mile journey.

[6:22]  ³ tn Heb “heart.”

[6:22]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “to strengthen their hands.”

[8:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “and Sherebiah.” The words “this man was” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[8:18]  ⁷ tn Or “relatives” (so CEV; NRSV “kin”); also in v. 19.

[8:22]  ⁸ tn A number of modern translations regard this as a collective singular and translate “from enemies” (also in v. 31).

[8:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “his strength and his anger.” The expression is a hendiadys (one concept expressed through two terms).

[8:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from the hand of the enemy and the one who lies in wait.” Some modern English versions render the latter phrase as “ambushes” (cf. NASB, NRSV).