Ezra 4:9

4:9 From ¹  Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues – the judges, the rulers, the officials, the secretaries, the Erechites, the Babylonians, the people of Susa (that is, ²  the Elamites),

Ezra 4:11

4:11 (This is a copy of the letter they sent to him:)

“To King Artaxerxes, ³  from your servants in ⁴  Trans-Euphrates:

Ezra 4:14

4:14 In light of the fact that we are loyal to the king, ⁵  and since it does not seem appropriate to us that the king should sustain damage, ⁶  we are sending the king this information ⁷ 

Ezra 4:16

4:16 We therefore are informing the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, you will not retain control ⁸  of this portion of Trans-Euphrates.”

Ezra 4:19

4:19 So I gave orders, ⁹  and it was determined ¹⁰  that this city from long ago has been engaging in insurrection against kings. It has continually engaged in ¹¹  rebellion and revolt.

Ezra 4:24--5:1

4:24 So the work on the temple of God in Jerusalem came to a halt. It remained halted until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia. ¹² 

Tattenai Appeals to Darius

5:1 Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son ¹³  of Iddo ¹⁴  prophesied concerning the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem ¹⁵  in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.

Ezra 5:13

5:13 But in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon, ¹⁶  King Cyrus enacted a decree to rebuild this temple of God.

Ezra 5:15

5:15 He said to him, “Take these vessels and go deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt in its proper location.” ¹⁷ 

Ezra 6:1

Darius Issues a Decree

6:1 So Darius the king issued orders, and they searched in the archives ¹⁸  of the treasury which were deposited there in Babylon.

Ezra 6:6

6:6 “Now Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar Bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials of Trans-Euphrates – all of you stay far away from there!

Ezra 6:13

The Temple Is Finally Dedicated

6:13 Then Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues acted accordingly – with precision, just as Darius the king had given instructions. ¹⁹ 

Ezra 6:15

6:15 They finished this temple on the third day of the month Adar, which is the sixth ²⁰  year of the reign of King Darius.

Ezra 6:18

6:18 They appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their divisions over the worship of God at Jerusalem, ²¹  in accord with ²²  the book of Moses.

Ezra 7:13

7:13 I have now issued a decree ²³  that anyone in my kingdom from the people of Israel – even the priests and Levites – who wishes to do so may go up with you to Jerusalem. ²⁴ 

Ezra 7:18

7:18 You may do whatever seems appropriate to you and your colleagues ²⁵  with the rest of the silver and the gold, in keeping with the will of your God.

Ezra 7:20

7:20 The rest of the needs for the temple of your God that you may have to supply, ²⁶  you may do so from the royal treasury.

¹ tn Aram “then.” What follows in v. 9 seems to be the preface of the letter, serving to identify the senders of the letter. The word “from” is not in the Aramaic text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

² tn For the qere of the MT (דֶּהָיֵא, dehaye’, a proper name) it seems better to retain the Kethib דִּהוּא (dihu’, “that is”). See F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 25, §35; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 36.

³ tn The Masoretic accents indicate that the phrase “to Artaxerxes the king” goes with what precedes and that the letter begins with the words “from your servants.” But it seems better to understand the letter to begin by identifying the addressee.

⁴ tn Aram “men of.”

⁵ tn Aram “we eat the salt of the palace.”

⁶ tn Aram “the dishonor of the king is not fitting for us to see.”

⁷ tn Aram “and we have made known.”

⁷ tn Aram “will not be to you.”

⁹ tn Aram “from me was placed a decree.”

¹⁰ tn Aram “and they searched and found.”

¹¹ tn Aram “are being done.”

¹¹ sn Darius I Hystaspes ruled Persia ca. 522–486 b.c.

¹³ tn Aram “son.” According to Zech 1:1 he was actually the grandson of Iddo.

¹⁴ tn Aram “and Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo the prophet.”

¹⁵ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁵ sn Cyrus was actually a Persian king, but when he conquered Babylon in 539 b.c. he apparently appropriated to himself the additional title “king of Babylon.” The Syriac Peshitta substitutes “Persia” for “Babylon” here, but this is probably a hyper-correction.

¹⁷ tn Aram “upon its place.”

¹⁹ tn Aram “the house of the archives.”

²¹ tn Aram “sent.”

²³ sn The sixth year of the reign of Darius would be ca. 516 B.C.

²⁵ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²⁶ tn Aram “according to the writing of.”

²⁷ tn Heb “from me is placed a decree.” So also in v. 21.

²⁸ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²⁹ tn Aram “brothers.”

³¹ tn Aram “may fall to you to give.”