Ezra 1:2-3

1:2 “Thus says King Cyrus of Persia:

“‘The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has instructed me to build a temple ¹  for him in Jerusalem, ²  which is in Judah. 1:3 Anyone from ³  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 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 

Ezra 2:68

2:68 When they came to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, some of the family leaders ⁷  offered voluntary offerings for the temple of God in order to rebuild ⁸  it on its site.

Ezra 3:3

3:3 They established the altar on its foundations, even though they were in terror of the local peoples, ⁹  and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and the evening offerings.

Ezra 6:21

6:21 The Israelites who were returning from the exile ate it, along with all those who had joined them ¹⁰  in separating themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to seek the Lord God of Israel.

Ezra 7:11

Artaxerxes Gives Official Endorsement to Ezra’s Mission

7:11 What follows ¹¹  is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priestly scribe. ¹²  Ezra was ¹³  a scribe in matters pertaining to the commandments of the Lord and his statutes over Israel:

Ezra 8:29

8:29 Be careful with them and protect them, until you weigh them out before the leading priests and the Levites and the family leaders of Israel in Jerusalem, ¹⁴  in the storerooms of the temple of the Lord.”

Ezra 9:5

9:5 At the time of the evening offering I got up from my self-abasement, ¹⁵  with my tunic and robe torn, and then dropped to my knees and spread my hands to the Lord my God.

Ezra 9:15

9:15 O Lord God of Israel, you are righteous, for we are left as a remnant this day. Indeed, we stand before you in our guilt. However, because of this guilt ¹⁶  no one can really stand before you.”

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¹ tn Heb “house.” The Hebrew noun בַּיִת (bayit, “house”) is often used in reference to the temple of Yahweh (BDB 108 s.v. 1.a). This is also frequent elsewhere in Ezra and Nehemiah (e.g., Ezra 1:3, 4, 5, 7; 2:68; 3:8, 9, 11, 12; 4:3; 6:22; 7:27; 8:17, 25, 29, 30, 33, 36; 9:9; 10:1, 6, 9).

² map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

³ tn Heb “from all.”

⁴ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

⁵ tn Heb “arose.”

⁶ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁷ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

⁸ tn Heb “cause it to stand.”

⁹ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “who had separated from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to them.”

¹¹ tn Heb “this.”

¹² tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.” So also in v. 21.

¹³ tn The words “Ezra was” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁵ tn The Hebrew word used here is a hapax legomenon. It refers to the self-abasement that accompanies religious sorrow and fasting.

¹⁶ tn Heb “this”; the referent (the guilt mentioned previously) has been specified in the translation for clarity.