Discovery BoxEzra 5:8 
Context5:8 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 10:3
Context10:3 Therefore let us enact 2 a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in keeping with your counsel, my lord, 3 and that of those who respect 4 the commandments of our God. And let it be done according to the law.
1 tn Aram “stones of rolling.” The reference is apparently to stones too large to carry.
2 tn Heb “cut.”
3 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.
4 tn Heb “who tremble at”; NAB, NIV “who fear.”
