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, ¹  and timbers are being placed in the walls. This work is being done with all diligence and is prospering in their hands.

Ezra 6:8

6:8 “I also hereby issue orders as to what you are to do with those elders of the Jews in order to rebuild this temple of God. From the royal treasury, from the taxes of Trans-Euphrates the complete costs are to be given to these men, so that there may be no interruption of the work. ² 

Ezra 6:22

6:22 They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the Lord had given them joy and had changed the opinion ³  of the king of Assyria ⁴  toward them, so that he assisted ⁵  them in the work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.

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¹ tn Aram “stones of rolling.” The reference is apparently to stones too large to carry.

² tn The words “of the work” are not in the Aramaic, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “heart.”

⁴ sn The expression “king of Assyria” is anachronistic, since Assyria fell in 612 b.c., long before the events of this chapter. Perhaps the expression is intended subtly to contrast earlier kings of Assyria who were hostile toward Israel with this Persian king who showed them favor.

⁵ tn Heb “to strengthen their hands.”