Ezra 4:4

4:4 Then the local people ¹  began to discourage ²  the people of Judah and to dishearten them from building.

Ezra 10:43

10:43 From the descendants of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.

Ezra 3:10

3:10 When the builders established the Lord’s temple, the priests, ceremonially attired and with their clarions, ³  and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with their cymbals, stood to praise the Lord according to the instructions left by ⁴  King David of Israel. ⁵ 

[4:4]  ¹ tn Heb “the people of the land.” Elsewhere this expression sometimes has a negative connotation, referring to a lay population that was less zealous for Judaism than it should have been. Here, however, it seems to refer to the resident population of the area without any negative connotation.

[4:4]  ² tn Heb “were making slack the hands of.”

[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.