Ezra 6:2-4
New English Translation
2 A scroll was found in the citadel[a] of Ecbatana which is in the province of Media, and it was inscribed as follows:
“Memorandum: 3 In the first year of his reign,[b] King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: ‘Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place.[c] Its height is to be 90 feet and its width 90 feet,[d] 4 with three layers of large stones[e] and one[f] layer of timber. The expense is to be subsidized[g] by the royal treasury.[h]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ezra 6:2 tc The translation reads בִירְתָא (birtaʾ, citadel”) rather than the reading בְּבִירְתָא (beviretaʾ, “in the citadel”) found in the MT. The MT probably experienced dittography here.
- Ezra 6:3 tn Aram “In the first year of Cyrus the king.”
- Ezra 6:3 tn Aram “raised”; or perhaps “retained” (so NASB; cf. NLT), referring to the original foundations of Solomon’s temple.
- Ezra 6:3 tc The Syriac Peshitta reads “20 cubits” here, a measurement probably derived from dimensions given elsewhere for Solomon’s temple. According to 1 Kgs 6:2 the dimensions of the Solomonic temple were as follows: length, 60 cubits; width, 20 cubits; height, 30 cubits. Since one would expect the dimensions cited in Ezra 6:3 to correspond to those of Solomon’s temple, it is odd that no dimension for length is provided. The Syriac has apparently harmonized the width dimension provided here (“20 cubits”) to that given in 1 Kgs 6:2.tn Aram “Its height 60 cubits and its width 60 cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about 18 inches (45 cm) long.
- Ezra 6:4 tn Aram “stones of rolling.”
- Ezra 6:4 tc The translation follows the LXX reading חַד (khad, “one”) rather than the MT חֲדַת (khadat, “new”). If the MT reading “new” is understood to mean freshly cut timber that has not yet been seasoned it would seem to be an odd choice for construction material.
- Ezra 6:4 tn Aram “let be given.”
- Ezra 6:4 tn Aram “house.”
Ezra 6:2-4
New International Version
2 A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it:
Memorandum:
3 In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem:
Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid.(A) It is to be sixty cubits[a] high and sixty cubits wide, 4 with three courses(B) of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury.(C)
Footnotes
- Ezra 6:3 That is, about 90 feet or about 27 meters
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