Ezra 4:12

4:12 Now ¹  let the king be aware that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and odious city. ²  They are completing its walls and repairing its foundations.

Ezra 4:23

4:23 Then, as soon as the copy of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read in the presence of Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues, they proceeded promptly to the Jews in Jerusalem ³  and stopped them with threat of armed force. ⁴ 

Ezra 5:2

5:2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak began ⁵  to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

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 ⁶  of Israel built it and completed it.

Ezra 6:9

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 6:11

6:11 “I hereby give orders that if anyone changes this directive a beam is to be pulled out from his house and he is to be raised up and impaled ⁸  on it, and his house is to be reduced ⁹  to a rubbish heap ¹⁰  for this indiscretion. ¹¹ 

Ezra 7:17

7:17 With this money you should be sure to purchase bulls, rams, and lambs, along with the appropriate ¹²  meal offerings and libations. You should bring them to the altar of the temple of your God which is in Jerusalem.

Ezra 7:23

7:23 Everything that the God of heaven has required should be precisely done for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should there be wrath ¹³  against the empire of the king and his sons?

¹ tn The MT takes this word with the latter part of v. 11, but in English style it fits better with v. 12.

² sn Management of the provinces that were distantly removed from the capital was difficult, and insurrection in such places was a perennial problem. The language used in this report about Jerusalem (i.e., “rebellious,” “odious”) is intentionally inflammatory. It is calculated to draw immediate attention to the perceived problem.

³ tn Aram “to Jerusalem against the Jews.”

⁴ tn Aram “by force and power,” a hendiadys.

⁵ tn Aram “arose and began.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a single concept.

⁷ sn This great king of Israel would, of course, be Solomon.

⁹ tn Aram “according to the word of.”

¹¹ sn The practice referred to in v. 11 has been understood in various ways: hanging (cf. 1 Esd 6:32 and KJV); flogging (cf. NEB, NLT); impalement (BDB 1091 s.v. זְקַף; HALOT 1914 s.v. מחא hitpe; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). The latter seems the most likely.

¹² tn Aram “made.”

¹³ tn Aram “a dunghill.”

¹⁴ tn Aram “for this.”

¹³ tn Aram “their meal offerings and their libations.”

¹⁵ tn The Aramaic word used here for “wrath” (קְצַף, qÿtsaf; cf. Heb קָצַף, qatsaf) is usually used in the Hebrew Bible for God’s anger as opposed to human anger (but contra Eccl 5:17 [MT 5:16]; Esth 1:18; 2 Kgs 3:27). The fact that this word is used in v. 23 may have theological significance, pointing to the possibility of divine judgment if the responsible parties should fail to make available these provisions for the temple.