Ezra 1:3

1:3 Anyone from ¹  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.

Ezra 3:2

3:2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak ²  and his priestly colleagues ³  and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his colleagues ⁴  started to build ⁵  the altar of the God of Israel so they could offer burnt offerings on it as required by ⁶  the law of Moses the man of God.

Ezra 3:10-11

3:10 When the builders established the Lord’s temple, the priests, ceremonially attired and with their clarions, ⁷  and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with their cymbals, stood to praise the Lord according to the instructions left by ⁸  King David of Israel. ⁹  3:11 With antiphonal response they sang, ¹⁰  praising and glorifying the Lord:

“For he is good;

his loyal love toward Israel is forever.”

All the people gave a loud ¹¹  shout as they praised the Lord when the temple of the Lord was established.

Ezra 6:22

6:22 They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the Lord had given them joy and had changed the opinion ¹²  of the king of Assyria ¹³  toward them, so that he assisted ¹⁴  them in the work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.

Ezra 7:6

7:6 This Ezra is the one who came up from Babylon. He was a scribe who was skilled in the law of Moses which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king supplied him with everything he requested, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.

Ezra 7:28

7:28 He has also conferred his favor on me before the king, his advisers, and all the influential leaders of the king. I gained strength as the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.

Ezra 8:18

8:18 Due to the fact that the good hand of our God was on us, they brought us a skilled man, from the descendants of Mahli the son of Levi son of Israel. This man was Sherebiah, ¹⁵  who was accompanied by his sons and brothers, ¹⁶  18 men,

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 ¹⁷  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 9:15--10:2

9:15 O Lord God of Israel, you are righteous, for we are left as a remnant this day. Indeed, we stand before you in our guilt. However, because of this guilt ¹⁸  no one can really stand before you.”

The People Confess Their Sins

10:1 While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself to the ground before the temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelites – men, women, and children alike – gathered around him. The people wept loudly. ¹⁹  10:2 Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, from the descendants of Elam, ²⁰  addressed Ezra:

“We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying ²¹  foreign women from the local peoples. ²²  Nonetheless, there is still hope for Israel in this regard. ²³ 

[1:3]  ¹ tn Heb “from all.”

[3:2]  ² sn Jozadak (also in 3:8) is a variant spelling of Jehozadak.

[3:2]  ³ tn Heb “his brothers the priests.”

[3:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[3:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “arose and built.”

[3:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “written in.” Cf. v. 4.

[3:10]  ³ sn This was a long, straight, metallic instrument used for signal calls, rather than the traditional ram’s horn (both instruments are typically translated “trumpet” by English versions).

[3:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “according to the hands of.”

[3:10]  ⁵ sn See Ps 107:1; 118:1, 29; 136:1. Cf. 2 Chr 5:13; 7:3; 20:21.

[3:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “they answered.”

[3:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “great.”

[6:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “heart.”

[6:22]  ⁶ sn The expression “king of Assyria” is anachronistic, since Assyria fell in 612 b.c., long before the events of this chapter. Perhaps the expression is intended subtly to contrast earlier kings of Assyria who were hostile toward Israel with this Persian king who showed them favor.

[6:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “to strengthen their hands.”

[8:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “and Sherebiah.” The words “this man was” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[8:18]  ⁷ tn Or “relatives” (so CEV; NRSV “kin”); also in v. 19.

[9:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.” So also in v. 2.

[9:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “this”; the referent (the guilt mentioned previously) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “with much weeping.”

[10:2]  ¹⁰ 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.

[10:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in that we have given a dwelling to.” So also in vv. 14, 17, 18.

[10:2]  ¹² tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

[10:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “upon this.”