Ezra 2:1

The Names of the Returning Exiles

2:1 ¹These are the people² of the province who were going up,³ from the captives of the exile whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had forced into exile in Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem⁴ and Judah, each to his own city.

Ezra 2:68

2:68 When they came to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, some of the family leaders⁵ offered voluntary offerings for the temple of God in order to rebuild⁶ it on its site.

Ezra 3:5-6

3:5 Afterward they offered the continual burnt offerings and those for the new moons and those for all the holy assemblies of the Lord and all those that were being voluntarily offered to the Lord. 3:6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. However, the Lord’s temple was not at that time established.⁷

Ezra 4:5

4:5 They were hiring advisers to oppose them, so as to frustrate their plans, throughout the time⁸ of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius⁹ of Persia.¹⁰

Ezra 5:5

5:5 But God was watching over¹¹ the elders of Judah, and they were not stopped¹² until a report could be dispatched¹³ to Darius and a letter could be sent back concerning this.

Ezra 5:11

5:11 They responded to us in the following way: ‘We are servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the temple which was previously built many years ago. A great king¹⁴ of Israel built it and completed it.

Ezra 6:17

6:17 For the dedication of this temple of God they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve male goats for the sin of all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

Ezra 8:36

8:36 Then they presented the decrees of the king to the king’s satraps and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, who gave help to the people and to the temple of God.

Ezra 10:5

10:5 So Ezra got up and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel take an oath to carry out this plan.¹⁵ And they all took a solemn oath.

Ezra 10:16

10:16 So the exiles proceeded accordingly. Ezra the priest separated out¹⁶ by name men who were leaders in their family groups.¹⁷ They sat down to consider this matter on the first day of the tenth month,

¹sn 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.

²tn Heb “the sons of.”

³tn 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.”

⁴map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁵tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

⁶tn Heb “cause it to stand.”

⁷tn Or “the foundation of the LORD’s temple was not yet laid.

⁸tn Heb “all the days of.”

⁹sn Darius ruled Persia ca. 522-486 B.C.

¹⁰sn The purpose of the opening verses of this chapter is to summarize why the Jews returning from the exile were unable to complete the rebuilding of the temple more quickly than they did. The delay was due not to disinterest on their part but to the repeated obstacles that had been placed in their path by determined foes.

¹¹tn Aram “the eye of their God was on.” The idiom describes the attentive care that one exercises in behalf of the object of his concern.

¹²tn Aram “they did not stop them.”

¹³tn Aram “[could] go.” On this form see F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 58, §169.

¹⁴sn This great king of Israel would, of course, be Solomon.

¹⁵tn Heb “to do according to this plan.”

¹⁶tc 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.

¹⁷tn Heb “the heads of the fathers, to the house of their fathers, and all of them by name.”