Ezra 1:2-5

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. 1:3 Anyone from ³  his people among you (may his God be with him!) may go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may build the temple of the Lord God of Israel – he is the God who is in Jerusalem. 1:4 Anyone who survives in any of those places where he is a resident foreigner must be helped by his neighbors ⁴  with silver, gold, equipment, and animals, along with voluntary offerings for the temple of God which is in Jerusalem.’”

The Exiles Prepare to Return to Jerusalem

1:5 Then the leaders ⁵  of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and the Levites – all those whose mind God had stirred – got ready ⁶  to go up in order to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. ⁷ 

Ezra 5:2

5:2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak began ⁸  to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

Ezra 6:3

6:3 In the first year of his reign, ⁹  King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: ¹⁰  ‘Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place. ¹¹  Its height is to be ninety feet and its width ninety ¹²  feet, ¹³ 

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 ¹⁴  the priests who are in Jerusalem – must be given to them daily without any neglect,

Ezra 6:12

6:12 May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation ¹⁵  who reaches out ¹⁶  to cause such change so as to destroy this temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have given orders. Let them be carried out with precision!”

Ezra 7:17

7:17 With this money you should be sure to purchase bulls, rams, and lambs, along with the appropriate ¹⁷  meal offerings and libations. You should bring them to the altar of the temple of your God which is in Jerusalem.

[1:2]  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).

[1:2]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:3]  ³ tn Heb “from all.”

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “the men of his place.”

[1:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

[1:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “arose.”

[1:5]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:2]  ⁹ tn Aram “arose and began.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a single concept.

[6:3]  ¹¹ tn Aram “In the first year of Cyrus the king.”

[6:3]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:3]  ¹³ tn Aram “raised”; or perhaps “retained” (so NASB; cf. NLT), referring to the original foundations of Solomon’s temple.

[6:3]  ¹⁴ tc The Syriac Peshitta reads “twenty cubits” here, a measurement probably derived from dimensions given elsewhere for Solomon’s temple. According to 1 Kgs 6:2 the dimensions of the Solomonic temple were as follows: length, 60 cubits; width, 20 cubits; height, 30 cubits. Since one would expect the dimensions cited in Ezra 6:3 to correspond to those of Solomon’s temple, it is odd that no dimension for length is provided. The Syriac has apparently harmonized the width dimension provided here (“twenty cubits”) to that given in 1 Kgs 6:2.

[6:3]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “Its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) long.

[6:9]  ¹³ tn Aram “according to the word of.”

[6:12]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “people.”

[6:12]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “who sends forth his hand.”

[7:17]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “their meal offerings and their libations.”