Ezra 8:32

8:32 So we came to Jerusalem, and we stayed there for three days.

Ezra 7:8

7:8 He entered Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king.

Ezra 7:19

7:19 Deliver to ¹  the God of Jerusalem the vessels that are given to you for the service of the temple of your God.

Ezra 10:7

10:7 A proclamation ²  was circulated ³  throughout Judah and Jerusalem ⁴  that all the exiles were to be assembled in Jerusalem.

Ezra 3:1

The Altar is Rebuilt

3:1 When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites ⁵  were living ⁶  in their ⁷  towns, the people assembled ⁸  in ⁹  Jerusalem. ¹⁰ 

Ezra 4:8

4:8 Rehum the commander ¹¹  and Shimshai the scribe ¹²  wrote a letter concerning ¹³  Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:

Ezra 4:20

4:20 Powerful kings have been over Jerusalem who ruled throughout the entire Trans-Euphrates ¹⁴  and who were the beneficiaries of ¹⁵  tribute, custom, and toll.

Ezra 7:7

7:7 In the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, Ezra brought ¹⁶  up to Jerusalem ¹⁷  some of the Israelites and some of the priests, the Levites, the attendants, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants.

Ezra 7:9

7:9 On the first day of the first month he had determined to make ¹⁸  the ascent from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he arrived at Jerusalem, ¹⁹  for the good hand of his God was on him.

Ezra 8:31

8:31 On the twelfth day of the first month we began traveling from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from our enemy and from bandits ²⁰  along the way.

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.

Ezra 3:8

3:8 In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem, ²¹  in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak initiated the work, ²²  along with the rest of their associates, ²³  the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed ²⁴  the Levites who were at least twenty years old ²⁵  to take charge of the work on the Lord’s temple.

¹ tn Or “before.”

¹ tn Heb “voice.”

² tn Heb “they sent.”

³ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹ tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”

² tn The word “living” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied. Some translations supply “settled” (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT).

³ tc The translation reads with some medieval Hebrew MSS and ancient versions בְּעָרֵיהֶם (be’arehem, “in their towns”), rather than the reading בֶּעָרִים (be’arim, “in the towns”) found in the MT. Cf. Neh 7:72 HT [7:73 ET].

⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds the phrase “like one man.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁵ tn Heb “to.”

⁶ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹ tn Aram “lord of the command.” So also in vv. 9, 17.

² sn Like Rehum, Shimshai was apparently a fairly high-ranking official charged with overseeing Persian interests in this part of the empire. His title was “scribe” or “secretary,” but in a more elevated political sense than that word sometimes has elsewhere. American governmental titles such as “Secretary of State” perhaps provide an analogy in that the word “secretary” can have a broad range of meaning.

³ tn Or perhaps “against.”

¹ sn The statement that prior Jewish kings ruled over the entire Trans-Euphrates is an overstatement. Not even in the days of David and Solomon did the kingdom of Israel extend its borders to such an extent.

² tn Aram “were being given to them.”

¹ tc The translation reads the Hiphil singular וַיַּעֲל (vayya’al, “he [Ezra] brought up”) rather than the Qal plural וַיַּעַלוּ (vayya’alu, “they came up”) of the MT.

² map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹ tc The translation reads יִסַּד (yissad, “he appointed” [= determined]) rather than the reading יְסֻד (yÿsud, “foundation”) of the MT. (The words “to make” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.)

² sn Apparently it took the caravan almost four months to make the five hundred mile journey.

¹ tn Heb “from the hand of the enemy and the one who lies in wait.” Some modern English versions render the latter phrase as “ambushes” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

¹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

² tn Heb “began”; the phrase “the work” is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

³ tn Heb “their brothers.”

⁴ tn Heb “stood.”

⁵ tn Heb “from twenty years and upward.”