Ezra 1:7

1:7 Then King Cyrus brought out the vessels of the Lord’s temple which Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem and had displayed ¹  in the temple of his gods.

Ezra 1:11--2:1

1:11 All these gold and silver vessels totaled 5,400. ²  Sheshbazzar brought them all along when the captives were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

The Names of the Returning Exiles

2:1 ³ These are the people ⁴  of the province who were going up, ⁵  from the captives of the exile whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had forced into exile in Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem ⁶  and Judah, each to his own city.

Ezra 2:68

2:68 When they came to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, some of the family leaders ⁷  offered voluntary offerings for the temple of God in order to rebuild ⁸  it on its site.

Ezra 3:1

The Altar is Rebuilt

3:1 When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites ⁹  were living ¹⁰  in their ¹¹  towns, the people assembled ¹²  in ¹³  Jerusalem. ¹⁴ 

Ezra 7:7

7:7 In the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, Ezra brought ¹⁵  up to Jerusalem ¹⁶  some of the Israelites and some of the priests, the Levites, the attendants, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants.

Ezra 7:9

7:9 On the first day of the first month he had determined to make ¹⁷  the ascent from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he arrived at Jerusalem, ¹⁸  for the good hand of his God was on him.

Ezra 7:27

7:27 ¹⁹ Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who so moved in the heart of the king to so honor the temple of the Lord which is in Jerusalem!

Ezra 8:29

8:29 Be careful with them and protect them, until you weigh them out before the leading priests and the Levites and the family leaders of Israel in Jerusalem, ²⁰  in the storerooms of the temple of the Lord.”

[1:7]  ¹ tn Heb “and he gave them.”

[1:11]  ² 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.”

[2:1]  ³ sn The list of names and numbers in this chapter of Ezra has a parallel account in Neh 7:6-73. The fact that the two lists do not always agree in specific details suggests that various textual errors have crept into the accounts during the transmission process.

[2:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “the sons of.”

[2:1]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term הָעֹלִים (ha’olim, “those who were going up” [Qal active participle]) refers to continual action in the past. Most translations render this as a simple past: “went up” (KJV), “came up” (RSV, ASV, NASV, NIV), “came” (NRSV). CEV paraphrases: “were on their way back.”

[2:1]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:68]  ⁴ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

[2:68]  ⁵ tn Heb “cause it to stand.”

[3:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”

[3:1]  ⁶ tn The word “living” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied. Some translations supply “settled” (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT).

[3:1]  ⁷ tc The translation reads with some medieval Hebrew MSS and ancient versions בְּעָרֵיהֶם (be’arehem, “in their towns”), rather than the reading בֶּעָרִים (be’arim, “in the towns”) found in the MT. Cf. Neh 7:72 HT [7:73 ET].

[3:1]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text adds the phrase “like one man.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “to.”

[3:1]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:7]  ⁶ tc The translation reads the Hiphil singular וַיַּעֲל (vayya’al, “he [Ezra] brought up”) rather than the Qal plural וַיַּעַלוּ (vayya’alu, “they came up”) of the MT.

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

[7:9]  ⁷ tc The translation reads יִסַּד (yissad, “he appointed” [= determined]) rather than the reading יְסֻד (yÿsud, “foundation”) of the MT. (The words “to make” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.)

[7:9]  ⁸ sn Apparently it took the caravan almost four months to make the five hundred mile journey.

[7:27]  ⁸ sn At this point the language of the book reverts from Aramaic (7:12-26) back to Hebrew.

[8:29]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.