Ezra 4:5

4:5 They were hiring advisers to oppose them, so as to frustrate their plans, throughout the time ¹  of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius ²  of Persia. ³ 

Ezra 5:1

Tattenai Appeals to Darius

5:1 Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son ⁴  of Iddo ⁵  prophesied concerning the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem ⁶  in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.

Ezra 5:3

5:3 At that time Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues came to them and asked, “Who gave you authority ⁷  to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?” ⁸ 

Ezra 5:12

5:12 But after our ancestors ⁹  angered the God of heaven, he delivered them into the hands ¹⁰  of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and exiled the people to Babylon. ¹¹ 

Ezra 6:21

6:21 The Israelites who were returning from the exile ate it, along with all those who had joined them ¹²  in separating themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to seek the Lord God of Israel.

Ezra 7:17

7:17 With this money you should be sure to purchase bulls, rams, and lambs, along with the appropriate ¹³  meal offerings and libations. You should bring them to the altar of the temple of your God which is in Jerusalem.

Ezra 8:15

The Exiles Travel to Jerusalem

8:15 I had them assemble ¹⁴  at the canal ¹⁵  that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I observed that the people and the priests were present, but I found no Levites there.

Ezra 8:25

8:25 and I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the vessels intended for the temple of our God – items that the king, his advisers, his officials, and all Israel who were present had contributed.

Ezra 8:28

8:28 Then I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, just as these vessels are holy. The silver and the gold are a voluntary offering to the Lord, the God of your fathers.

Ezra 8:30

8:30 Then the priests and the Levites took charge of ¹⁶  the silver, the gold, and the vessels that had been weighed out, to transport them to Jerusalem to the temple of our God.

Ezra 10:10

10:10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have behaved in an unfaithful manner by taking foreign wives! This has contributed to the guilt of Israel.

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¹ tn Heb “all the days of.”

² sn Darius ruled Persia ca. 522-486 B.C.

³ sn 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.

⁴ tn Aram “son.” According to Zech 1:1 he was actually the grandson of Iddo.

⁵ tn Aram “and Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo the prophet.”

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 Aram “who placed to you a command?” So also v. 9.

⁸ tn The exact meaning of the Aramaic word אֻשַּׁרְנָא (’ussarna’) here and in v. 9 is uncertain (BDB 1083 s.v.). The LXX and Vulgate understand it to mean “wall.” Here it is used in collocation with בַּיְתָא (bayta’, “house” as the temple of God), while in 5:3, 9 it is used in parallelism with this term. It might be related to the Assyrian noun ashurru (“wall”) or ashru (“sanctuary”; so BDB). F. Rosenthal, who translates the word “furnishings,” thinks that it probably enters Aramaic from Persian (Grammar, 62-63, §189).

⁹ tn Aram “fathers.”

¹⁰ tn Aram “hand” (singular).

¹¹ sn A reference to the catastrophic events of 586 b.c.

¹² tn Heb “who had separated from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to them.”

¹³ tn Aram “their meal offerings and their libations.”

¹⁴ tn Or “I gathered them.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “river.” So also in vv. 21, 31.

¹⁶ tn Heb “received.”