Ezra 8:30

8:30 Then the priests and the Levites took charge of ¹  the silver, the gold, and the vessels that had been weighed out, to transport them to Jerusalem to the temple of our God.

Ezra 1:11--2:1

1:11 All these gold and silver vessels totaled 5,400. ²  Sheshbazzar brought them all along when the captives were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

The Names of the Returning Exiles

2:1 ³ These are the people ⁴  of the province who were going up, ⁵  from the captives of the exile whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had forced into exile in Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem ⁶  and Judah, each to his own city.

Ezra 7:13

7:13 I have now issued a decree ⁷  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. ⁸ 

Ezra 1:3

1:3 Anyone from ⁹  his people among you (may his God be with him!) may go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may build the temple of the Lord God of Israel – he is the God who is in Jerusalem.

Ezra 4:12

4:12 Now ¹⁰  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. ¹¹  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 ¹²  and stopped them with threat of armed force. ¹³ 

Ezra 3:8

3:8 In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem, ¹⁴  in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak initiated the work, ¹⁵  along with the rest of their associates, ¹⁶  the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed ¹⁷  the Levites who were at least twenty years old ¹⁸  to take charge of the work on the Lord’s temple.

[8:30]  ¹ tn Heb “received.”

[1:11]  ² sn The total number as given in the MT does not match the numbers given for the various items in v. 9. It is not clear whether the difference is due to error in textual transmission or whether the constituent items mentioned are only a selection from a longer list, in which case the total from that longer list may have been retained. The numbers provided in 1 Esdras come much closer to agreeing with the number in Ezra 1:9-11, but this does not necessarily mean that 1 Esdras has been better preserved here than Ezra. 1 Esdras 2:13-15 (RSV) says, “The number of these was: a thousand gold cups, a thousand silver cups, twenty-nine silver censures, thirty gold bowls, two thousand four hundred and ten silver bowls, and a thousand other vessels. All the vessels were handed over, gold and silver, five thousand four hundred and sixty-nine, and they were carried back by Shesbazzar with the returning exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem.”

[2:1]  ³ sn The list of names and numbers in this chapter of Ezra has a parallel account in Neh 7:6-73. The fact that the two lists do not always agree in specific details suggests that various textual errors have crept into the accounts during the transmission process.

[2:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “the sons of.”

[2:1]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term הָעֹלִים (ha’olim, “those who were going up” [Qal active participle]) refers to continual action in the past. Most translations render this as a simple past: “went up” (KJV), “came up” (RSV, ASV, NASV, NIV), “came” (NRSV). CEV paraphrases: “were on their way back.”

[2:1]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “from me is placed a decree.” So also in v. 21.

[7:13]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “from all.”

[4:12]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁷ tn Aram “to Jerusalem against the Jews.”

[4:23]  ⁸ tn Aram “by force and power,” a hendiadys.

[3:8]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “began”; the phrase “the work” is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[3:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “their brothers.”

[3:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “stood.”

[3:8]  ¹² tn Heb “from twenty years and upward.”