Ezra 5:17

5:17 “Now if the king is so inclined, ¹  let a search be conducted in the royal archives ²  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 8:17

8:17 I sent them to Iddo, who was the leader in the place called Casiphia. I told them ³  what to say to Iddo and his relatives, ⁴  who were the temple servants in ⁵  Casiphia, so they would bring us attendants for the temple of our God.

Ezra 8:22

8:22 I was embarrassed to request soldiers and horsemen from the king to protect us from the enemy ⁶  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 ⁷  is against everyone who forsakes him.”

Ezra 9:11

9:11 which you commanded us through your servants the prophets with these words: ⁸  ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land defiled by the impurities of the local residents! ⁹  With their abominations they have filled it from one end to the other with their filthiness.

Ezra 10:3

10:3 Therefore let us enact ¹⁰  a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in keeping with your counsel, my lord, ¹¹  and that of those who respect ¹²  the commandments of our God. And let it be done according to the law.

Ezra 10:14

10:14 Let our leaders take steps ¹³  on behalf of all the assembly. Let all those in our towns who have married foreign women come at an appointed time, and with them the elders of each town and its judges, until the hot anger of our God is turned away from us in this matter.”

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¹ tn Aram “if upon the king it is good.”

² tn Aram “the house of the treasures of the king.”

³ tn Heb “I placed in their mouth words.”

⁴ tc The translation reads with the LXX and Vulgate וְאֶחָיו (vÿ’ekhayv, “and his brethren” = “relatives”; so NCV, NLT) rather than the reading אָחִיו (’akhiyv, “his brother”) of the MT.

⁵ tn Heb “in the place called.” This phrase has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁶ tn A number of modern translations regard this as a collective singular and translate “from enemies” (also in v. 31).

⁷ tn Heb “his strength and his anger.” The expression is a hendiadys (one concept expressed through two terms).

⁸ tn Heb “through your servants the prophets, saying.”

⁹ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “cut.”

¹¹ 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.

¹² tn Heb “who tremble at”; NAB, NIV “who fear.”

¹³ tn Heb “stand.”