Ezra 9:10

9:10 “And now what are we able to say after this, our God? For we have forsaken your commandments

Ezra 1:2

1:2 “Thus says King Cyrus of Persia:

“‘The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has instructed me to build a temple ¹  for him in Jerusalem, ²  which is in Judah.

Ezra 8:17

8:17 I sent them to Iddo, who was the leader in the place called Casiphia. I told them ³  what to say to Iddo and his relatives, ⁴  who were the temple servants in ⁵  Casiphia, so they would bring us attendants for the temple of our God.

Ezra 9:11

9:11 which you commanded us through your servants the prophets with these words: ⁶  ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land defiled by the impurities of the local residents! ⁷  With their abominations they have filled it from one end to the other with their filthiness.

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 ⁸  of Israel built it and completed it.

Ezra 10:12

10:12 All the assembly replied in a loud voice: “We will do just as you have said! ⁹ 

Ezra 1:1

The Decree of Cyrus

1:1 ¹⁰ In the first ¹¹  year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the Lord’s message ¹²  spoken through ¹³  Jeremiah, ¹⁴  the Lord stirred the mind ¹⁵  of King Cyrus of Persia. He disseminated ¹⁶  a proclamation ¹⁷  throughout his entire kingdom, announcing in a written edict ¹⁸  the following: ¹⁹ 

Ezra 5:7

5:7 The report they sent to him was written as follows: ²⁰ 

“To King Darius: All greetings! ²¹ 

Ezra 3:11

3:11 With antiphonal response they sang, ²²  praising and glorifying the Lord:

“For he is good;

his loyal love toward Israel is forever.”

All the people gave a loud ²³  shout as they praised the Lord when the temple of the Lord was established.

Ezra 9:1

A Prayer of Ezra

9:1 Now when these things had been completed, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the local residents ²⁴  who practice detestable things similar to those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

Ezra 9:6

9:6 I prayed, ²⁵ 

“O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God! For our iniquities have climbed higher than our heads, and our guilt extends to the heavens.

Ezra 8:22

8:22 I was embarrassed to request soldiers and horsemen from the king to protect us from the enemy ²⁶  along the way, because we had said to the king, “The good hand of our God is on everyone who is seeking him, but his great anger ²⁷  is against everyone who forsakes him.”

Ezra 4:17

4:17 The king sent the following response:

“To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and other parts of Trans-Euphrates: Greetings! ²⁸ 

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 ²⁹  the priests who are in Jerusalem – must be given to them daily without any neglect,

Ezra 10:2

10:2 Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, from the descendants of Elam, ³⁰  addressed Ezra:

“We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying ³¹  foreign women from the local peoples. ³²  Nonetheless, there is still hope for Israel in this regard. ³³ 

¹ tn Heb “house.” The Hebrew noun בַּיִת (bayit, “house”) is often used in reference to the temple of Yahweh (BDB 108 s.v. 1.a). This is also frequent elsewhere in Ezra and Nehemiah (e.g., Ezra 1:3, 4, 5, 7; 2:68; 3:8, 9, 11, 12; 4:3; 6:22; 7:27; 8:17, 25, 29, 30, 33, 36; 9:9; 10:1, 6, 9).

² 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 “I placed in their mouth words.”

² tc The translation reads with the LXX and Vulgate וְאֶחָיו (vÿ’ekhayv, “and his brethren” = “relatives”; so NCV, NLT) rather than the reading אָחִיו (’akhiyv, “his brother”) of the MT.

³ tn Heb “in the place called.” This phrase has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹ tn Heb “through your servants the prophets, saying.”

² tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

¹ sn This great king of Israel would, of course, be Solomon.

¹ tn Heb “thus according to your word [singular = Qere] concerning us, to do.”

¹ sn In addition to the canonical books of Ezra and Nehemiah, there are two deuterocanonical books that are also called “Ezra.” Exactly how these books are designated varies in ancient literature. In the Septuagint (LXX) canonical Ezra is called Second Esdras, but in the Latin Vulgate it is called First Esdras. Our Nehemiah is called Third Esdras in some manuscripts of the LXX, but it is known as Second Esdras in the Latin Vulgate. (In the earliest LXX manuscripts Ezra and Nehemiah were regarded as one book, as they were in some Hebrew manuscripts.) The deuterocanonical books of Ezra are called First and Fourth Esdras in the LXX, but Third and Fourth Esdras in the Latin Vulgate. The titles for the so-called books of Ezra are thus rather confusing, a fact that one must keep in mind when consulting this material.

² sn The first year of Cyrus would be ca. 539 B.C. Cyrus reigned in Persia from ca. 539-530 B.C.

³ tn Heb “the word of the Lord.”

⁴ tc The MT reads מִפִּי (mippi, “from the mouth of”), but this should probably be emended to בְּפִי (bÿfi, “by the mouth of”), which is the way the parallel passage in 2 Chr 36:22 reads. This is also reflected in the LXX, which is either reflecting an alternate textual tradition of בְּפִי or is attempting to harmonize Ezra 1:1 in light of 2 Chronicles.

⁵ sn Cf. Jer 29:10; 25:11-14. Jeremiah had prophesied that after a time of seventy years the Jews would return “to this place.” How these seventy years are to be reckoned is a matter of debate among scholars. Some understand the period to refer to the approximate length of Babylon’s ascendancy as a world power, beginning either with the fall of Nineveh (612 b.c.) or with Nebuchadnezzar’s coronation (605 b.c.) and continuing till the fall of Babylon to the Persians in 539 b.c. Others take the seventy years to refer to the period from the destruction of the temple in 586 b.c. till its rebuilding in 516 b.c.

⁶ tn Heb “spirit.” The Hebrew noun רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) has a broad range of meanings (see BDB 924-26 s.v.). Here, it probably refers to (1) “mind” as the seat of mental acts (e.g., Exod 28:3; Deut 34:9; Isa 29:24; 40:13; Ezek 11:5; 20:32; 1 Chr 28:12; cf. BDB 925 s.v. 6) or (2) “will” as the seat of volitional decisions (e.g., Exod 35:5, 22; Pss 51:12, 14; 57:8; 2 Chr 29:31; cf. BDB 925 s.v. 7). So also in v. 5.

⁷ tn Heb “caused to pass.”

⁸ tn Heb “a voice.” The Hebrew noun קוֹל (qol, “voice, sound”) has a broad range of meanings, including the metonymical (cause – effect) nuance “proclamation” (e.g., Exod 36:6; 2 Chr 24:9; 30:5; 36:22; Ezra 1:1; 10:7; Neh 8:15). See BDB 877 s.v. 3.a.2.

⁹ sn For an interesting extrabiblical parallel to this edict see the Cyrus cylinder (ANET 315-16).

¹⁰ tn Heb “in writing, saying.”

¹ tn Aram “and it was written in its midst.”

² tn Aram “all peace.”

¹ tn Heb “they answered.”

² tn Heb “great.”

¹ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.” So also in v. 2.

¹ tn Heb “I said.”

¹ tn A number of modern translations regard this as a collective singular and translate “from enemies” (also in v. 31).

² tn Heb “his strength and his anger.” The expression is a hendiadys (one concept expressed through two terms).

¹ tn Aram “peace.”

¹ tn Aram “according to the word of.”

¹ tc The translation reads with the Qere, many medieval Hebrew MSS, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate עֵילָם (’elam, “Elam”) rather than the reading עוֹלָם (’olam, “eternity”) found in the MT.

² tn Heb “in that we have given a dwelling to.” So also in vv. 14, 17, 18.

³ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

⁴ tn Heb “upon this.”