Ezra 3:11

3:11 With antiphonal response they sang, ¹  praising and glorifying the Lord:

“For he is good;

his loyal love toward Israel is forever.”

All the people gave a loud ²  shout as they praised the Lord when the temple of the Lord was established.

Ezra 5:8

5:8 Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great God. It is being built with large stones, ³  and timbers are being placed in the walls. This work is being done with all diligence and is prospering in their hands.

Ezra 7:25

7:25 “Now you, Ezra, in keeping with the wisdom of your God which you possess, ⁴  appoint judges ⁵  and court officials who can arbitrate cases on behalf of all the people who are in Trans-Euphrates who know the laws of your God. Those who do not know this law should be taught.

Ezra 7:28

7:28 He has also conferred his favor on me before the king, his advisers, and all the influential leaders of the king. I gained strength as the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.

Ezra 9:2

9:2 Indeed, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race ⁶  has become intermingled with the local residents. Worse still, the leaders and the officials have been at the forefront of all of this!”

Ezra 10:3

10:3 Therefore let us enact ⁷  a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in keeping with your counsel, my lord, ⁸  and that of those who respect ⁹  the commandments of our God. And let it be done according to the law.

---

¹ tn Heb “they answered.”

² tn Heb “great.”

³ tn Aram “stones of rolling.” The reference is apparently to stones too large to carry.

⁴ tn Aram “in your hand.”

⁵ tc For the MT reading שָׁפְטִין (shoftim, “judges”) the LXX uses the noun γραμματεῖς (grammatei", “scribes”).

⁶ tn Heb “the holy seed,” referring to the Israelites as God’s holy people.

⁷ tn Heb “cut.”

⁸ tn The MT vocalizes this word as a plural, which could be understood as a reference to God. But the context seems to suggest that a human lord is intended. The apparatus of BHS suggests repointing the word as a singular (“my lord”), but this is unnecessary. The plural (“my lords”) can be understood in an honorific sense even when a human being is in view. Most English versions regard this as a reference to Ezra, so the present translation supplies “your” before “counsel” to make this clear.

⁹ tn Heb “who tremble at”; NAB, NIV “who fear.”