Ezra 6:7

6:7 Leave the work on this temple of God alone. ¹  Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this temple of God in its proper place.

Ezra 5:1

Tattenai Appeals to Darius

5:1 Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son ²  of Iddo ³  prophesied concerning the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem ⁴  in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.

Ezra 5:5

5:5 But God was watching over ⁵  the elders of Judah, and they were not stopped ⁶  until a report could be dispatched ⁷  to Darius and a letter could be sent back concerning this.

Ezra 4:12

4:12 Now ⁸  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. ⁹  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 ¹⁰  and stopped them with threat of armed force. ¹¹ 

Ezra 6:8

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. ¹² 

Ezra 6:14

6:14 The elders of the Jews continued building and prospering, while at the same time ¹³  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.

¹ tc For the MT reading “the work on this temple of God” the LXX reads “the servant of the Lord Zurababel” [= Zerubbabel].

² tn Aram “son.” According to Zech 1:1 he was actually the grandson of Iddo.

³ tn Aram “and Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo the prophet.”

⁴ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

³ tn Aram “the eye of their God was on.” The idiom describes the attentive care that one exercises in behalf of the object of his concern.

⁴ tn Aram “they did not stop them.”

⁵ tn Aram “[could] go.” On this form see F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 58, §169.

⁴ tn The MT takes this word with the latter part of v. 11, but in English style it fits better with v. 12.

⁵ 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.

⁵ tn Aram “to Jerusalem against the Jews.”

⁶ tn Aram “by force and power,” a hendiadys.

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

⁷ tn Aram “in” or “by,” in the sense of accompaniment.