Ezra 6:11-12

6:11 “I hereby give orders that if anyone changes this directive a beam is to be pulled out from his house and he is to be raised up and impaled ¹  on it, and his house is to be reduced ²  to a rubbish heap ³  for this indiscretion. ⁴  6:12 May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation ⁵  who reaches out ⁶  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 7:21

7:21 “I, King Artaxerxes, hereby issue orders to all the treasurers of ⁷  Trans-Euphrates, that you precisely execute all that Ezra the priestly scribe of the law of the God of heaven may request of you –

Ezra 7:23

7:23 Everything that the God of heaven has required should be precisely done for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should there be wrath ⁸  against the empire of the king and his sons?

[6:11]  ¹ sn The practice referred to in v. 11 has been understood in various ways: hanging (cf. 1 Esd 6:32 and KJV); flogging (cf. NEB, NLT); impalement (BDB 1091 s.v. זְקַף; HALOT 1914 s.v. מחא hitpe; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). The latter seems the most likely.

[6:11]  ² tn Aram “made.”

[6:11]  ³ tn Aram “a dunghill.”

[6:11]  ⁴ tn Aram “for this.”

[6:12]  ⁵ tn Aram “people.”

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

[7:21]  ⁹ tn Aram “who are in.”

[7:23]  ¹³ tn The Aramaic word used here for “wrath” (קְצַף, qÿtsaf; cf. Heb קָצַף, qatsaf) is usually used in the Hebrew Bible for God’s anger as opposed to human anger (but contra Eccl 5:17 [MT 5:16]; Esth 1:18; 2 Kgs 3:27). The fact that this word is used in v. 23 may have theological significance, pointing to the possibility of divine judgment if the responsible parties should fail to make available these provisions for the temple.