Ezra 3:10

3:10 When the builders established the Lord’s temple, the priests, ceremonially attired and with their clarions, ¹  and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with their cymbals, stood to praise the Lord according to the instructions left by ²  King David of Israel. ³ 

Ezra 4:15

4:15 so that he may initiate a search of the records ⁴  of his predecessors ⁵  and discover in those records ⁶  that this city is rebellious ⁷  and injurious to both kings and provinces, producing internal revolts ⁸  from long ago. ⁹  It is for this very reason that this city was destroyed.

Ezra 6:3

6:3 In the first year of his reign, ¹⁰  King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: ¹¹  ‘Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place. ¹²  Its height is to be ninety feet and its width ninety ¹³  feet, ¹⁴ 

Ezra 6:8

6:8 “I also hereby issue orders as to what you are to do with those elders of the Jews in order to rebuild this temple of God. From the royal treasury, from the taxes of Trans-Euphrates the complete costs are to be given to these men, so that there may be no interruption of the work. ¹⁵ 

Ezra 6:12

6:12 May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation ¹⁶  who reaches out ¹⁷  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 7:25

7:25 “Now you, Ezra, in keeping with the wisdom of your God which you possess, ¹⁸  appoint judges ¹⁹  and court officials who can arbitrate cases on behalf of all the people who are in Trans-Euphrates who know the laws of your God. Those who do not know this law should be taught.

Ezra 9:7

9:7 From the days of our fathers until this very day our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities we, along with our kings and ²⁰  priests, have been delivered over by the local kings ²¹  to sword, captivity, plunder, and embarrassment – right up to the present time.

Ezra 9:9

9:9 Although we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our servitude. He has extended kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, in that he has revived us ²²  to restore the temple of our God and to raise ²³  up its ruins and to give us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem. ²⁴ 

Ezra 10:13

10:13 However, the people are numerous and it is the rainy season. ²⁵  We are unable to stand here outside. Furthermore, this business cannot be resolved in a day or two, for we have sinned greatly in this matter.

[3:10]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “according to the hands of.”

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

[4:15]  ⁴ tn Aram “the book of the minutes.”

[4:15]  ⁵ tn Aram “of your fathers.”

[4:15]  ⁶ tn Aram “discover…and learn.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a single concept.

[4:15]  ⁷ tn Aram “is a rebellious city.”

[4:15]  ⁸ tn Aram “revolts they are making in its midst.”

[4:15]  ⁹ tn Aram “from olden days.” So also in v. 19.

[6:3]  ⁷ tn Aram “In the first year of Cyrus the king.”

[6:3]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:3]  ⁹ tn Aram “raised”; or perhaps “retained” (so NASB; cf. NLT), referring to the original foundations of Solomon’s temple.

[6:3]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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.

[6:8]  ¹⁰ tn The words “of the work” are not in the Aramaic, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:12]  ¹³ tn Aram “people.”

[6:12]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “who sends forth his hand.”

[7:25]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “in your hand.”

[7:25]  ¹⁷ tc For the MT reading שָׁפְטִין (shoftim, “judges”) the LXX uses the noun γραμματεῖς (grammatei", “scribes”).

[9:7]  ¹⁹ tc The MT lacks “and” here, but see the LXX and Vulgate.

[9:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the kings of the lands.”

[9:9]  ²² tn Heb “has granted us reviving.”

[9:9]  ²³ tn Heb “to cause to stand.”

[9:9]  ²⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:13]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the time [is] rain showers.”