Ezra 1:3

1:3 Anyone from ¹  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 2:1

The Names of the Returning Exiles

2:1 ² These are the people ³  of the province who were going up, ⁴  from the captives of the exile whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had forced into exile in Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem ⁵  and Judah, each to his own city.

Ezra 6:8-9

6:8 “I also hereby issue orders as to what you are to do with those elders of the Jews in order to rebuild this temple of God. From the royal treasury, from the taxes of Trans-Euphrates the complete costs are to be given to these men, so that there may be no interruption of the work. ⁶  6:9 Whatever is needed – whether oxen or rams or lambs or burnt offerings for the God of heaven or wheat or salt or wine or oil, as required by ⁷  the priests who are in Jerusalem – must be given to them daily without any neglect,

Ezra 6:20

6:20 The priests and the Levites had purified themselves, every last one, ⁸  and they all were ceremonially pure. They sacrificed the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their colleagues ⁹  the priests, and for themselves.

Ezra 7:25

7:25 “Now you, Ezra, in keeping with the wisdom of your God which you possess, ¹⁰  appoint judges ¹¹  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 8:25

8:25 and I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the vessels intended for the temple of our God – items that the king, his advisers, his officials, and all Israel who were present had contributed.

Ezra 9:11

9:11 which you commanded us through your servants the prophets with these words: ¹²  ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land defiled by the impurities of the local residents! ¹³  With their abominations they have filled it from one end to the other with their filthiness.

Ezra 10:9

10:9 All the men of Judah and Benjamin were gathered in Jerusalem within the three days. (It was in the ninth month, on the twentieth day of that month.) All the people sat in the square at the temple of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the rains.

[1:3]  ¹ tn Heb “from all.”

[2:1]  ² sn The list of names and numbers in this chapter of Ezra has a parallel account in Neh 7:6-73. The fact that the two lists do not always agree in specific details suggests that various textual errors have crept into the accounts during the transmission process.

[2:1]  ³ tn Heb “the sons of.”

[2:1]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term הָעֹלִים (ha’olim, “those who were going up” [Qal active participle]) refers to continual action in the past. Most translations render this as a simple past: “went up” (KJV), “came up” (RSV, ASV, NASV, NIV), “came” (NRSV). CEV paraphrases: “were on their way back.”

[2:1]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:8]  ⁶ tn The words “of the work” are not in the Aramaic, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:9]  ⁷ tn Aram “according to the word of.”

[6:20]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “brothers.”

[7:25]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “in your hand.”

[7:25]  ¹¹ tc For the MT reading שָׁפְטִין (shoftim, “judges”) the LXX uses the noun γραμματεῖς (grammatei", “scribes”).

[9:11]  ¹² tn Heb “through your servants the prophets, saying.”

[9:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”