Ezra 1:6

1:6 All their neighbors assisted ¹  them with silver utensils, ²  gold, equipment, animals, and expensive gifts, not to mention ³  all the voluntary offerings.

Ezra 1:11

1:11 All these gold and silver vessels totaled 5,400. ⁴  Sheshbazzar brought them all along when the captives were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Ezra 4:5

4:5 They were hiring advisers to oppose them, so as to frustrate their plans, throughout the time ⁵  of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius ⁶  of Persia. ⁷ 

Ezra 4:14

4:14 In light of the fact that we are loyal to the king, ⁸  and since it does not seem appropriate to us that the king should sustain damage, ⁹  we are sending the king this information ¹⁰ 

Ezra 7:13-14

7:13 I have now issued a decree ¹¹  that anyone in my kingdom from the people of Israel – even the priests and Levites – who wishes to do so may go up with you to Jerusalem. ¹²  7:14 You are authorized ¹³  by the king and his seven advisers to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your possession, ¹⁴ 

Ezra 9:4

9:4 Everyone who held the words of the God of Israel in awe ¹⁵  gathered around me because of the unfaithful acts of the people of the exile. ¹⁶  Devastated, I continued to sit there until the evening offering.

Ezra 9:13

9:13 “Everything that has happened to us has come about because of our wicked actions and our great guilt. Even so, our God, you have exercised restraint ¹⁷  toward our iniquities and have given us a remnant such as this.

Ezra 10:3

10:3 Therefore let us enact ¹⁸  a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in keeping with your counsel, my lord, ¹⁹  and that of those who respect ²⁰  the commandments of our God. And let it be done according to the law.

Ezra 10:8

10:8 Everyone who did not come within three days would thereby forfeit all his property, in keeping with the counsel of the officials and the elders. Furthermore, he himself would be excluded from the assembly of the exiles.

[1:6]  ¹ tn Heb “strengthened their hands.”

[1:6]  ² tc The MT reads בִּכְלֵי־כֶסֶף (bikhley khesef, “with silver vessels”). However, part of the LXX manuscript tradition reads ἐν πᾶσιν ἀργυρίῳ (en pasin arguriw), which reflects an alternate Hebrew reading of בַּכֹּל־בַּכֶּסֶף (bakkol-bakkesef, “everywhere, with silver”). The textual variant involves (1) simple omission of yod (י) between two words, a common scribal mistake; (2) haplography of the preposition bet (בּ); and (3) an alternate vocalization tradition of the first term.

[1:6]  ³ tn Heb “besides” or “in addition to.”

[1:11]  ⁴ sn The total number as given in the MT does not match the numbers given for the various items in v. 9. It is not clear whether the difference is due to error in textual transmission or whether the constituent items mentioned are only a selection from a longer list, in which case the total from that longer list may have been retained. The numbers provided in 1 Esdras come much closer to agreeing with the number in Ezra 1:9-11, but this does not necessarily mean that 1 Esdras has been better preserved here than Ezra. 1 Esdras 2:13-15 (RSV) says, “The number of these was: a thousand gold cups, a thousand silver cups, twenty-nine silver censures, thirty gold bowls, two thousand four hundred and ten silver bowls, and a thousand other vessels. All the vessels were handed over, gold and silver, five thousand four hundred and sixty-nine, and they were carried back by Shesbazzar with the returning exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem.”

[4:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “all the days of.”

[4:5]  ⁸ sn Darius ruled Persia ca. 522-486 B.C.

[4:5]  ⁹ sn The purpose of the opening verses of this chapter is to summarize why the Jews returning from the exile were unable to complete the rebuilding of the temple more quickly than they did. The delay was due not to disinterest on their part but to the repeated obstacles that had been placed in their path by determined foes.

[4:14]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “we eat the salt of the palace.”

[4:14]  ¹¹ tn Aram “the dishonor of the king is not fitting for us to see.”

[4:14]  ¹² tn Aram “and we have made known.”

[7:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “from me is placed a decree.” So also in v. 21.

[7:13]  ¹⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:14]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “sent.”

[7:14]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “in your hand.”

[9:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “who trembled at the words of the God of Israel.”

[9:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the exile”; the words “the people” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:13]  ²² tn Heb “held back downwards from”; KJV “hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve” (NIV, NRSV, NLT all similar).

[10:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “cut.”

[10:3]  ²⁶ tn The MT vocalizes this word as a plural, which could be understood as a reference to God. But the context seems to suggest that a human lord is intended. The apparatus of BHS suggests repointing the word as a singular (“my lord”), but this is unnecessary. The plural (“my lords”) can be understood in an honorific sense even when a human being is in view. Most English versions regard this as a reference to Ezra, so the present translation supplies “your” before “counsel” to make this clear.

[10:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “who tremble at”; NAB, NIV “who fear.”