This first verse introduces a new section in the book of Ezra that is a register of the people living in Judah who had returned from Babylonia. The Hebrew connective conjunction translated here as Now does not refer to time, but functions as a transition from the preceding sentence to the listing of the people who returned to Jerusalem from Babylonia that follows.

The people of the province: The Hebrew word for people is literally “sons” or “children,” but it often has the wider meaning of descendants of a certain ancestor or inhabitants of a certain land. For instance, the expression “children of Israel” refers to all the people of Israel. Although some versions translate literally “the sons of the province” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) or “the children of the province” (King James Version), most versions translate “the people of the province” as Revised Standard Version has done. In some languages a special word or prefix exists to identify the people who belong to a country or who are native to that area. Such a construction would be appropriate here.

The Hebrew word for province can mean “administrative district.” Revised Standard Version, like many other versions, does not identify this province. Good News Translation associates this word with Babylon from where the Jews were returning. Other versions (Contemporary English Version, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) and most commentators, however, consider it to refer to Judah, even though at that time Judah was not yet a formally recognized province (see Ezra 4.10; 5.3, 6). It was rather a semi-autonomous administrative unit within the province called “Beyond the River.” A province in the Persian Empire was administered by a satrap or governor, directly appointed by the king and responsible to him. The administrator of a semi-autonomous administrative unit did not have the status and authority of a provincial governor. Nevertheless, most versions retain the word “province” here. The translator may express this as “division of the land” or “part of the kingdom” if no direct equivalent is available. Care should be taken not to identify this administrative unit with political divisions in modern nations. It may be necessary to make explicit that Judah is being referred to here; for example, Contemporary English Version says “the people of Judah.”

Who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried captive to Babylonia: The Hebrew text is very emphatic in its repetition and in its reminder of the captivity that the people had endured and of their delivery from being captives. The people who are being listed are those “coming up” from the “captivity” of the “exile” to which Nebuchadnezzar had “exiled” them in Babylonia (so Chouraqui). The reference to Nebuchadnezzar’s carrying them away captive must indicate clearly that this occurred before the events that are being described now in this verse took place.

Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon did not rule only over the city of Babylon. He ruled over the entire kingdom of Babylonia (see the comments on Ezra 1.7). Therefore this should not be translated as “chief of the city of Babylon” but rather “chief of the land of Babylon.” For a discussion of the title king of Babylon, see Ezra 5.13 and Neh 13.6.

They returned to Jerusalem and Judah: The list includes both those who actually went into captivity from Judah and those who were born in captivity in Babylonia. All these are considered to have returned to Jerusalem and Judah because Judah was their ancestral home. It would be more accurate to refer to “… Jerusalem and the rest of Judah,” since Jerusalem was in Judah.

Each to his own town: The people all returned to their ancestral towns. These were still known by the returnees two to three generations after the first group was taken into exile. All the towns mentioned in this chapter, except the three in verse 33, are within the borders of pre-exilic Judah and within ten miles of Jerusalem. The Hebrew word for town is very general and can refer to cities, villages or fortified places. Translators should use an equivalent term for a place where people live together in an organized community. With the exception of Jerusalem, most of these places were more like villages than modern cities, and in many languages the word for “village” will be the most appropriate term.

Most translators will need to restructure this verse to include all the information that is given in the original text and at the same time to introduce the list that follows. The following are possible models:

• Many people that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken away as war slaves to Babylon from the division of land called Judah returned home to their own places. They returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each to his own village. Here are those people.

• The persons that follow are the descendants of the people from the province of Judah whom the king of Babylonia had taken to Babylonia as captives. His name was Nebuchadnezzar. They went back to the city of Jerusalem and the province of Judah. All of them returned to their own towns.

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 .

Hired counselors against them: The counselors referred to are Persian government officers who are literally hired to break up the Jewish plan. New English Bible calls them “officials at court,” while New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “ministers.” “To hire” is to pay money to someone for their services. Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New Jerusalem Bible and other versions interpret this as bribery; that is, they paid the government officials to do something that was not right for them to do (see Neh 6.12).

The second of the two ideas expressed in the Hebrew here is conveyed in Revised Standard Version as to frustrate their purpose and in Good News Translation as “to work against them.” The concept of working against or in opposition to the Jews is explicit in the text, as is the effort to prevent their plan from succeeding. No examples are given of how these tactics were carried out to make their plan fail. There is a play on words in the Hebrew because the word for counselors is formed from the same root as the word translated as purpose. In the Hebrew they bribed “counselors” to make the “counsel” of the Jews fail (so Chouraqui), but most translators will not be able to imitate the pun. Osty-Trinquet expresses both ideas as follows: “they hired against them counselors to make their plan fail.”

All the days of Cyrus king of Persia; that is, “the days of the rule of Cyrus over Persia” or “the time of the kingdom of….” This can also be restructured “during all the time that King Cyrus ruled over Persia.”

Even until the reign of Darius king of Persia: The length of time spoken of here extended not only until the time when Darius became king, but as Good News Translation makes clear, it went “into” his reign. King Darius of Persia ruled from 521 to 486 B.C. following the reigns of Cyrus and Cambyses.

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 .

Sheshbazzar is named as the governor who laid the foundations of the house of God, while in Ezra 3.8 Zerubbabel is named as the one responsible when the foundation was laid. The relationship between Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel is not clear from the text, but the Jewish leaders probably referred to Sheshbazzar since he was the one to whom King Cyrus delivered the Temple vessels and he would have been named in the royal archives. For foundations of the house, see Ezra 3.6.

From that time until now it has been in building: They claim that from that time (the time of Sheshbazzar) the Temple has been in building. From Ezra 4.5, 24 it is known that the rebuilding had not been continuous, but at least a beginning had been made in the time of King Cyrus. Therefore they present the work of rebuilding as going on from the time of Sheshbazzar up to their time.

It is not yet finished: The theme of finishing the work is repeated here, but it is not the same verb that was used before (for example, Ezra 4.12; 5.3). When this word is used about a building, the meaning is “to finish.” At the time when they were speaking, the work had not yet been completed.

This is the end of the quotation of the Jewish leaders’ reply. This is marked by a single closing quotation mark in both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation for the second level of quotation here (see verse 11 above)

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 .

The vessels that have been given you: The vessels are not the ones from the Temple taken to Babylon but ones provided by the king and the Jews in exile (see Ezra 8.25-28). No specific list or description of the objects is given and therefore a general term such as “utensils” (Good News Translation), “objects” or “things” should be used here.

Although both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation use the passive construction that have been given you, it may be necessary in the receptor language to restructure this verbal construction. Because it is not specified who gave the vessels, translators may need to say “that you will receive” or “that people will give to you.” This instruction is addressed to Ezra and the pronoun is the second person singular you.

For the service of the house of your God: See the comments on Ezra 6.18.

You shall deliver is a second person singular imperative verb in Aramaic. This verb has a basic meaning of “complete” or “finish,” but here it means deliver (so Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible). Traduction œcuménique de la Bible says “deposit,” while Revised English Bible has “hand over.” Note that Good News Translation has restructured the entire verse to state the command first and then the object of the command. This clause order will be more natural in many languages.

Before the God of Jerusalem: The God of Jerusalem probably means the same as “the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem” in verse 15 above. The Aramaic preposition rendered before after the verb deliver is translated different ways, depending on the perspective. The basic meaning is “in front of.” Similarly to Good News Translation, New International Version says that the vessels are to be delivered “to the God of Jerusalem.” Translators should express the meaning in the most natural manner in the receptor language.

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 .