In this verse the theme of the return of the vessels is repeated (see Ezra 1.7-11; 5.14-15). In Cyrus’s original decree as quoted here, the command was given that the vessels were to be returned to their place in the Temple in Jerusalem. The reversal of Nebuchadnezzar’s original act of taking them away from Jerusalem to Babylon is repeated here very succinctly.

The gold and silver vessels: See the comments on Ezra 5.14.

To its place: The decree specified that the Temple objects were to be returned to their original places. This phrase may be rendered “to their proper place” (Good News Translation) or “to the places where they used to be.”

You shall put them in the house of God: The introduction of the second person singular you in the last line of the decree seems abrupt and unexpected, but there are many parallels to this kind of shift. It is especially common in the prophetic books where a change of pronoun in reference to the same person or persons often has a function of giving emphasis or special focus. The passive form “they are to be deposited in the house of God” in New International Version (similarly Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible and other versions) represents a proposed textual correction of the Aramaic text, which is literally “you shall put them in the house of God.” This change makes the form consistent with the first part of the verse. Some versions do, however, retain the second person singular pronoun as Revised Standard Version has done (so New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).

The translator will need to review the style used in this verse. Good News Translation simplifies the structure and makes the meaning very clear, but Revised Standard Version in its now archaic form reveals the formality and precision of the royal decree as given in the original Aramaic. This is highlighted by the exact repetition of part of Ezra 5.14. The verse ends with a closing quotation mark to show that this is the end of the quotation that began in verse 2 in Revised Standard Version and at verse 3 in Good News Translation.

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 .