Ezra 1:1

The Decree of Cyrus

1:1 ¹ In the first ²  year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the Lord’s message ³  spoken through ⁴  Jeremiah, ⁵  the Lord stirred the mind ⁶  of King Cyrus of Persia. He disseminated ⁷  a proclamation ⁸  throughout his entire kingdom, announcing in a written edict ⁹  the following: ¹⁰ 

Ezra 10:19

10:19 (They gave their word ¹¹  to send away their wives; their guilt offering was a ram from the flock for their guilt.)

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. ¹² 

Ezra 10:5

10:5 So Ezra got up and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel take an oath to carry out this plan. ¹³  And they all took a solemn oath.

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 ¹⁴  on it, and his house is to be reduced ¹⁵  to a rubbish heap ¹⁶  for this indiscretion. ¹⁷ 

Ezra 5:10

5:10 We also inquired of their names in order to inform you, so that we might write the names of the men who were their leaders.

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 ¹⁸  of this portion of Trans-Euphrates.”

Ezra 4:14

4:14 In light of the fact that we are loyal to the king, ¹⁹  and since it does not seem appropriate to us that the king should sustain damage, ²⁰  we are sending the king this information ²¹ 

Ezra 5:8

5:8 Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great God. It is being built with large stones, ²²  and timbers are being placed in the walls. This work is being done with all diligence and is prospering in their hands.

Ezra 5:17

5:17 “Now if the king is so inclined, ²³  let a search be conducted in the royal archives ²⁴  there in Babylon in order to determine whether King Cyrus did in fact issue orders for this temple of God to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us a decision concerning this matter.”

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 ²⁵  the priests who are in Jerusalem – must be given to them daily without any neglect,

Ezra 6:14

6:14 The elders of the Jews continued building and prospering, while at the same time ²⁶  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.

[1:1]  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.

[1:1]  ² sn The first year of Cyrus would be ca. 539 B.C. Cyrus reigned in Persia from ca. 539-530 B.C.

[1:1]  ³ tn Heb “the word of the Lord.”

[1:1]  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.

[1:1]  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.

[1:1]  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.

[1:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “caused to pass.”

[1:1]  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.

[1:1]  ⁹ sn For an interesting extrabiblical parallel to this edict see the Cyrus cylinder (ANET 315-16).

[1:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in writing, saying.”

[10:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “hand.”

[6:13]  ²¹ tn Aram “sent.”

[10:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “to do according to this plan.”

[6:11]  ⁴¹ 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.

[6:11]  ⁴² tn Aram “made.”

[6:11]  ⁴³ tn Aram “a dunghill.”

[6:11]  ⁴⁴ tn Aram “for this.”

[4:16]  ⁵¹ tn Aram “will not be to you.”

[4:14]  ⁶¹ tn Aram “we eat the salt of the palace.”

[4:14]  ⁶² tn Aram “the dishonor of the king is not fitting for us to see.”

[4:14]  ⁶³ tn Aram “and we have made known.”

[5:8]  ⁷¹ tn Aram “stones of rolling.” The reference is apparently to stones too large to carry.

[5:17]  ⁸¹ tn Aram “if upon the king it is good.”

[5:17]  ⁸² tn Aram “the house of the treasures of the king.”

[6:9]  ⁹¹ tn Aram “according to the word of.”

[6:14]  ¹⁰¹ tn Aram “in” or “by,” in the sense of accompaniment.