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 ¹  and stopped them with threat of armed force. ² 

Ezra 5:14

5:14 Even the gold and silver vessels of the temple of God that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and had brought to the palace ³  of Babylon – even those things King Cyrus brought from the palace of Babylon and presented ⁴  to a man by the name of Sheshbazzar whom he had appointed as governor.

Ezra 5:17

5:17 “Now if the king is so inclined, ⁵  let a search be conducted in the royal archives ⁶  there in Babylon in order to determine whether King Cyrus did in fact issue orders for this temple of God to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us a decision concerning this matter.”

Ezra 6:3

6:3 In the first year of his reign, ⁷  King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: ⁸  ‘Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place. ⁹  Its height is to be ninety feet and its width ninety ¹⁰  feet, ¹¹ 

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 ¹²  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 ¹³  who reaches out ¹⁴  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 9:9

9:9 Although we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our servitude. He has extended kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, in that he has revived us ¹⁵  to restore the temple of our God and to raise ¹⁶  up its ruins and to give us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁷ 

Ezra 10:9

10:9 All the men of Judah and Benjamin were gathered in Jerusalem within the three days. (It was in the ninth month, on the twentieth day of that month.) All the people sat in the square at the temple of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the rains.

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¹ tn Aram “to Jerusalem against the Jews.”

² tn Aram “by force and power,” a hendiadys.

³ tn Or “temple.”

⁴ tn Aram “they were given.”

⁵ tn Aram “if upon the king it is good.”

⁶ tn Aram “the house of the treasures of the king.”

⁷ tn Aram “In the first year of Cyrus the king.”

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

⁹ tn Aram “raised”; or perhaps “retained” (so NASB; cf. NLT), referring to the original foundations of Solomon’s temple.

¹⁰ 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.

¹¹ 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.

¹² tn Aram “according to the word of.”

¹³ tn Aram “people.”

¹⁴ tn Aram “who sends forth his hand.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “has granted us reviving.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “to cause to stand.”

¹⁷ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.