Ezra 10:3

10:3 Therefore let us enact ¹  a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in keeping with your counsel, my lord, ²  and that of those who respect ³  the commandments of our God. And let it be done according to the law.

Ezra 10:2

10:2 Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, from the descendants of Elam, ⁴  addressed Ezra:

“We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying ⁵  foreign women from the local peoples. ⁶  Nonetheless, there is still hope for Israel in this regard. ⁷ 

Ezra 1:1

The Decree of Cyrus

1:1 ⁸ In the first ⁹  year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the Lord’s message ¹⁰  spoken through ¹¹  Jeremiah, ¹²  the Lord stirred the mind ¹³  of King Cyrus of Persia. He disseminated ¹⁴  a proclamation ¹⁵  throughout his entire kingdom, announcing in a written edict ¹⁶  the following: ¹⁷ 

Psalms 119:136

119:136 Tears stream down from my eyes, ¹⁸ 

because people ¹⁹  do not keep your law.

Isaiah 66:2

66:2 My hand made them; ²⁰ 

that is how they came to be,” ²¹  says the Lord.

I show special favor ²²  to the humble and contrite,

who respect what I have to say. ²³ 

Ezekiel 9:4

9:4 The Lord said to him, “Go through the city of Jerusalem ²⁴  and put a mark ²⁵  on the foreheads of the people who moan and groan over all the abominations practiced in it.”

[10:3]  ¹ tn Heb “cut.”

[10:3]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “who tremble at”; NAB, NIV “who fear.”

[10:2]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “in that we have given a dwelling to.” So also in vv. 14, 17, 18.

[10:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

[10:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “upon this.”

[1:1]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ sn The first year of Cyrus would be ca. 539 B.C. Cyrus reigned in Persia from ca. 539-530 B.C.

[1:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the word of the Lord.”

[1:1]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “caused to pass.”

[1:1]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ sn For an interesting extrabiblical parallel to this edict see the Cyrus cylinder (ANET 315-16).

[1:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in writing, saying.”

[119:136]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “[with] flowing streams my eyes go down.”

[119:136]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they”; even though somewhat generic, the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[66:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “all these.” The phrase refers to the heavens and earth, mentioned in the previous verse.

[66:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “and all these were.” Some prefer to emend וַיִּהְיוּ (vayyihyu, “and they were”) to וְלִי הָיוּ (vÿli hayu, “and to me they were”), i.e., “and they belong to me.”

[66:2]  ²² tn Heb “and to this one I look” (KJV and NASB both similar).

[66:2]  ²³ tn Heb “to the humble and the lowly in spirit and the one who trembles at my words.”

[9:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem.”

[9:4]  ²⁵ tn The word translated “mark” is in Hebrew the letter ת (tav). Outside this context the only other occurrence of the word is in Job 31:35. In ancient Hebrew script this letter was written like the letter X.