Ezra 7:15

7:15 and to bring silver and gold which the king and his advisers have freely contributed to the God of Israel, who resides in Jerusalem,

Ezra 7:19

7:19 Deliver to ¹  the God of Jerusalem the vessels that are given to you for the service of the temple of your God.

Ezra 6:5

6:5 Furthermore let the gold and silver vessels of the temple of God, which Nebuchadnezzar brought from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, be returned and brought to their proper place in the temple in Jerusalem. Let them be deposited in the temple of God.’

Ezra 4:8

4:8 Rehum the commander ²  and Shimshai the scribe ³  wrote a letter concerning ⁴  Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:

Ezra 4:20

4:20 Powerful kings have been over Jerusalem who ruled throughout the entire Trans-Euphrates ⁵  and who were the beneficiaries of ⁶  tribute, custom, and toll.

Ezra 4:24--5:1

4:24 So the work on the temple of God in Jerusalem came to a halt. It remained halted until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia. ⁷ 

Tattenai Appeals to Darius

5:1 Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son ⁸  of Iddo ⁹  prophesied concerning the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem ¹⁰  in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.

Ezra 5:15-16

5:15 He said to him, “Take these vessels and go deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt in its proper location.” ¹¹  5:16 Then this Sheshbazzar went and laid the foundations of the temple of God in Jerusalem. From that time to the present moment ¹²  it has been in the process of being rebuilt, although it is not yet finished.’

Ezra 6:18

6:18 They appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their divisions over the worship of God at Jerusalem, ¹³  in accord with ¹⁴  the book of Moses.

Ezra 7:13-14

7:13 I have now issued a decree ¹⁵  that anyone in my kingdom from the people of Israel – even the priests and Levites – who wishes to do so may go up with you to Jerusalem. ¹⁶  7:14 You are authorized ¹⁷  by the king and his seven advisers to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your possession, ¹⁸ 

Ezra 7:16

7:16 along with all the silver and gold that you may collect ¹⁹  throughout all the province of Babylon and the contributions of the people and the priests for the temple of their God which is in Jerusalem.

Ezra 4:12

4:12 Now ²⁰  let the king be aware that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and odious city. ²¹  They are completing its walls and repairing its foundations.

Ezra 4:23

4:23 Then, as soon as the copy of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read in the presence of Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues, they proceeded promptly to the Jews in Jerusalem ²²  and stopped them with threat of armed force. ²³ 

Ezra 5:2

5:2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak began ²⁴  to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

Ezra 6:3

6:3 In the first year of his reign, ²⁵  King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: ²⁶  ‘Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place. ²⁷  Its height is to be ninety feet and its width ninety ²⁸  feet, ²⁹ 

Ezra 6:9

6:9 Whatever is needed – whether oxen or rams or lambs or burnt offerings for the God of heaven or wheat or salt or wine or oil, as required by ³⁰  the priests who are in Jerusalem – must be given to them daily without any neglect,

Ezra 6:12

6:12 May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation ³¹  who reaches out ³²  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 7:17

7:17 With this money you should be sure to purchase bulls, rams, and lambs, along with the appropriate ³³  meal offerings and libations. You should bring them to the altar of the temple of your God which is in Jerusalem.

[7:19]  ¹ tn Or “before.”

[4:8]  ¹ tn Aram “lord of the command.” So also in vv. 9, 17.

[4:8]  ² sn Like Rehum, Shimshai was apparently a fairly high-ranking official charged with overseeing Persian interests in this part of the empire. His title was “scribe” or “secretary,” but in a more elevated political sense than that word sometimes has elsewhere. American governmental titles such as “Secretary of State” perhaps provide an analogy in that the word “secretary” can have a broad range of meaning.

[4:8]  ³ tn Or perhaps “against.”

[4:20]  ¹ sn The statement that prior Jewish kings ruled over the entire Trans-Euphrates is an overstatement. Not even in the days of David and Solomon did the kingdom of Israel extend its borders to such an extent.

[4:20]  ² tn Aram “were being given to them.”

[4:24]  ¹ sn Darius I Hystaspes ruled Persia ca. 522–486 b.c.

[5:1]  ¹ tn Aram “son.” According to Zech 1:1 he was actually the grandson of Iddo.

[5:1]  ² tn Aram “and Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo the prophet.”

[5:1]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:15]  ¹ tn Aram “upon its place.”

[5:16]  ¹ tn Aram “from then and until now.”

[6:18]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:18]  ² tn Aram “according to the writing of.”

[7:13]  ¹ tn Heb “from me is placed a decree.” So also in v. 21.

[7:13]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:14]  ¹ tn Aram “sent.”

[7:14]  ² tn Aram “in your hand.”

[7:16]  ¹ tn Aram “find.”

[4:12]  ¹ tn The MT takes this word with the latter part of v. 11, but in English style it fits better with v. 12.

[4:12]  ² sn Management of the provinces that were distantly removed from the capital was difficult, and insurrection in such places was a perennial problem. The language used in this report about Jerusalem (i.e., “rebellious,” “odious”) is intentionally inflammatory. It is calculated to draw immediate attention to the perceived problem.

[4:23]  ¹ tn Aram “to Jerusalem against the Jews.”

[4:23]  ² tn Aram “by force and power,” a hendiadys.

[5:2]  ¹ tn Aram “arose and began.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a single concept.

[6:3]  ¹ tn Aram “In the first year of Cyrus the king.”

[6:3]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

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

[6:3]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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.

[6:9]  ¹ tn Aram “according to the word of.”

[6:12]  ¹ tn Aram “people.”

[6:12]  ² tn Aram “who sends forth his hand.”

[7:17]  ¹ tn Aram “their meal offerings and their libations.”