Ezra 6:22

6:22 They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the Lord had given them joy and had changed the opinion ¹  of the king of Assyria ²  toward them, so that he assisted ³  them in the work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.

Ezra 10:16

10:16 So the exiles proceeded accordingly. Ezra the priest separated out ⁴  by name men who were leaders in their family groups. ⁵  They sat down to consider this matter on the first day of the tenth month,

[6:22]  ¹ tn Heb “heart.”

[6:22]  ² sn The expression “king of Assyria” is anachronistic, since Assyria fell in 612 b.c., long before the events of this chapter. Perhaps the expression is intended subtly to contrast earlier kings of Assyria who were hostile toward Israel with this Persian king who showed them favor.

[6:22]  ³ tn Heb “to strengthen their hands.”

[10:16]  ⁴ tc The translation reads the Hiphil singular וַיַּבְדֵּל לוֹ (vayyavdel lo, “separated for himself”) rather than the Niphal plural וַיִּבָּדְלוּ (vayyibbadÿlu, “were separated”) of the MT.

[10:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers, to the house of their fathers, and all of them by name.”