Ezra 5:13

5:13 But in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon, ¹  King Cyrus enacted a decree to rebuild this temple of God.

Ezra 6:1-2

Darius Issues a Decree

6:1 So Darius the king issued orders, and they searched in the archives ²  of the treasury which were deposited there in Babylon. 6:2 A scroll was found in the citadel ³  of Ecbatana which is in the province of Media, and it was inscribed as follows:

“Memorandum:

Ezra 1:5

The Exiles Prepare to Return to Jerusalem

1:5 Then the leaders ⁴  of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and the Levites – all those whose mind God had stirred – got ready ⁵  to go up in order to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. ⁶ 

Esther 3:15

3:15 The messengers ⁷  scurried forth ⁸  with the king’s order. ⁹  The edict was issued in Susa the citadel. While the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in an uproar! ¹⁰ 

Esther 9:14

9:14 So the king issued orders for this to be done. A law was passed in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged.

Psalms 148:6

148:6 He established them so they would endure; ¹¹ 

he issued a decree that will not be revoked. ¹² 

[5:13]  ¹ sn Cyrus was actually a Persian king, but when he conquered Babylon in 539 b.c. he apparently appropriated to himself the additional title “king of Babylon.” The Syriac Peshitta substitutes “Persia” for “Babylon” here, but this is probably a hyper-correction.

[6:1]  ² tn Aram “the house of the archives.”

[6:2]  ³ tc The translation reads בִירְתָא (birta’, citadel”) rather than the reading בְּבִירְתָא (bÿvireta’, “in the citadel”) found in the MT. The MT probably experienced dittography here.

[1:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

[1:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “arose.”

[1:5]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “runners.” So also in 8:10, 14. Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “couriers.”

[3:15]  ⁸ tn Or “went forth in haste” (so ASV).

[3:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “with the word of the king.”

[3:15]  ¹⁰ sn The city of Susa was in an uproar. This final statement of v. 15 is a sad commentary on the pathetic disregard of despots for the human misery and suffering that they sometimes inflict on those who are helpless to resist their power. Here, while common people braced for the reckless loss of life and property that was about to begin, the perpetrators went about their mundane activities as though nothing of importance was happening.

[148:6]  ¹¹ tn Or “forever and ever.”

[148:6]  ¹² tn Heb “and it will not pass away.”