Ezra 4:3

4:3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them, “You have no right ¹  to help us build the temple of our God. We will build it by ourselves for the Lord God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.”

Ezra 8:22

8:22 I was embarrassed to request soldiers and horsemen from the king to protect us from the enemy ²  along the way, because we had said to the king, “The good hand of our God is on everyone who is seeking him, but his great anger ³  is against everyone who forsakes him.”

Ezra 9:8

9:8 “But now briefly ⁴  we have received mercy from the Lord our God, in that he has left us a remnant and has given us a secure position ⁵  in his holy place. Thus our God has enlightened our eyes ⁶  and has given us a little relief in our time of servitude.

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¹ tn Heb “not to you and to us.”

² tn A number of modern translations regard this as a collective singular and translate “from enemies” (also in v. 31).

³ tn Heb “his strength and his anger.” The expression is a hendiadys (one concept expressed through two terms).

⁴ tn Heb “according to a little moment.”

⁵ tn Heb “a peg” or “tent peg.” The imagery behind this word is drawn from the experience of nomads who put down pegs as they pitched their tents and made camp after times of travel.

⁶ tn Heb “to cause our eyes to shine.” The expression is a figure of speech for “to revive.” See DCH 1:160 s.v. אור Hi.7.