Whatever is needed: The animals and supplies listed are what were required for the daily sacrifices by the Jews according to the regulations in Leviticus and Numbers. In some languages it may be difficult to express an abstract or unspecified need. It may then be necessary to restate the expression in more direct terms, for example, “whatever the priests ask of you for their work.”

Young bulls were male oxen often three years old; rams were adult male sheep; sheep were either male or female sheep. Here sheep perhaps refers to “lambs” as in Good News Translation (also Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Many languages have special terms to designate the male and the female of species of animals. The appropriate words should be used in the receptor language to refer to young bulls and to rams. For sheep or “lambs,” a general term should be used that does not distinguish male and female.

These animals were used for burnt offerings (see Ezra 3.2). They were offered to the God of heaven (see Ezra 1.2).

Wheat, salt, wine and oil were also given as offerings and for libations. All these products were very important in the life of the Israelites and now the Jews (compare Ezra 3.7). Wheat was the grain from which bread was made and this was the Jews’ staple food. Here it refers to the grain itself and not to wheat flour. Wine is fermented juice from grapes, and the oil is from the fruit of olive trees, as Good News Translation makes explicit.

If wine from grapes is not known in the receptor culture, it is sometimes possible to refer to it with a general term for fermented beverages. However, because of the importance of the grapevine and its fruit, the vineyard, and wine in the Old and New Testaments both for food and drink and as a theological symbol, a way must be found to translate these terms. In some geographical locations, a local fruit-bearing vine related to the grapevine may be used. In other cases, it is more appropriate to use borrowed terms. The connotations of these terms, both traditional terms and borrowed terms, must be carefully analyzed by translators to make sure that they are acceptable in biblical use.

The olive tree was also a very important plant, especially for its fruit and for the oil. Olive trees are evergreen trees that bear fruit from which olive oil may be made. They are slow-growing trees that live to more than 1,000 years of age. The trees must be cultivated for seven years before bearing fruit. A full-sized tree produces one-half ton of fruit a year. The fruit has a bitter taste before being processed. Both the fruit and the oil are a staple of every meal in the Mediterranean region. Sometimes translators borrow a word for olive, or they may describe the olive tree as a “tree for oil,” that is, a tree that produces a fruit from which oil is extracted.

For priests see Ezra 1.5.

Let that be given to them day by day without fail: Just as sacrifices were to be performed daily, these animals and supplies were to be provided to the priests day by day or “each day.” The emphasis is not on duration of time, but on providing their needs every day without fail according to the requirements of their religion (see Ezra 3.4).

Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Ezra. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .