Ezra 2:1

The Names of the Returning Exiles

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

Ezra 3:7

Preparations for Rebuilding the Temple

3:7 So they provided money ⁵  for the masons and carpenters, and food, beverages, and olive oil for the people of Sidon ⁶  and Tyre, ⁷  so that they would bring cedar timber from Lebanon to the seaport ⁸  at Joppa, in accord with the edict of King Cyrus of Persia.

Ezra 3:10

3:10 When the builders established the Lord’s temple, the priests, ceremonially attired and with their clarions, ⁹  and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with their cymbals, stood to praise the Lord according to the instructions left by ¹⁰  King David of Israel. ¹¹ 

Ezra 4:3

4:3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them, “You have no right ¹²  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 5:11

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 ¹³  of Israel built it and completed it.

Ezra 6:12

6:12 May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation ¹⁴  who reaches out ¹⁵  to cause such change so as to destroy this temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have given orders. Let them be carried out with precision!”

Ezra 6:14

6:14 The elders of the Jews continued building and prospering, while at the same time ¹⁶  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.

[2:1]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “the sons of.”

[2:1]  ³ 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]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “silver.”

[3:7]  ⁶ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[3:7]  ⁷ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[3:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “to the sea”

[3:10]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “according to the hands of.”

[3:10]  ¹¹ sn See Ps 107:1; 118:1, 29; 136:1. Cf. 2 Chr 5:13; 7:3; 20:21.

[4:3]  ¹² tn Heb “not to you and to us.”

[5:11]  ¹³ sn This great king of Israel would, of course, be Solomon.

[6:12]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “people.”

[6:12]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “who sends forth his hand.”

[6:14]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “in” or “by,” in the sense of accompaniment.