uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-participants

בָּר֥וּךְ יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י אֲבוֹתֵ֑י⁠נוּ

blessed YHWH god fathers,our

Connecting Statement:

Previously in the book, Ezra has been a character in a story that someone else has been telling. Here he becomes the person telling the story, and he continues to tell it through to the end of chapter 9. In effect, the letter of introduction that King Artaxerxes wrote for him has been his introduction to us as well. The book does not say specifically that Ezra will now be the narrator, although one indication is that when Ezra is telling the story, he refers to himself as “I” and to the Jewish community as “us,” and another indication is that the book is now written in Hebrew again. But if it would be helpful to your readers, you could add a phrase to indicate this. Alternate translation: “When I, Ezra, received this letter from the king, I prayed, ‘Thank you, Yahweh, the God of our ancestors’”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / aside

בָּר֥וּךְ יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י אֲבוֹתֵ֑י⁠נוּ

blessed YHWH god fathers,our

Connecting Statement:

The first thing that Ezra does when he begins to tell his own story is pray to God, rather than address the audience that will hear his story. If you decided to add a phrase to introduce him as the new narrator, you could use that same phrase to introduce this prayer as a direct quotation. Alternate translation: “When I, Ezra, received this letter from the king, I prayed, ‘Thank you, Yahweh, the God of our ancestors’” Otherwise, you could show that this prayer is distinct from the story by setting it off with quotation marks or with whatever other punctuation or convention your language uses to indicate a quotation. The quotation should end in the middle of 7:28, after “the mighty officials of the king.”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person

בָּר֥וּךְ יְהוָ֖ה

blessed YHWH

Connecting Statement:

Although Ezra speaks of Yahweh in the third person here, he is actually praying a prayer of thanksgiving to Yahweh. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate his words in the second person. Alternate translation: “Thank you, Yahweh”

בָּר֥וּךְ יְהוָ֖ה

blessed YHWH

Connecting Statement:

If it is not natural or not possible in your language to speak of a human blessing God, then you can express the idea here in a different way. Alternate translation: “I praise Yahweh” or “I thank Yahweh”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

אֱלֹהֵ֣י אֲבוֹתֵ֑י⁠נוּ

god fathers,our

Connecting Statement:

Fathers here means “ancestors.” Alternate translation: “the God of our ancestors”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

נָתַ֤ן כָּ⁠זֹאת֙ בְּ⁠לֵ֣ב הַ⁠מֶּ֔לֶךְ לְ⁠פָאֵ֕ר אֶת־בֵּ֥ית יְהוָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בִּ⁠ירוּשָׁלִָֽם

he/it_gave as,this in/on/at/with,heart the=king to,glorify DOM house_of YHWH which/who in/on/at/with,Jerusalem

Giving something in the king’s heart, that is, putting something in it, means leading him to have certain thoughts and desires. Alternate translation: “led the king to want to glorify the temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

לְ⁠פָאֵ֕ר אֶת־בֵּ֥ית יְהוָ֖ה

to,glorify DOM house_of YHWH

This expression means to make something bright, glorious, or beautiful. Artaxerxes was not doing this literally, the way that Cyrus and Darius did by supporting the physical rebuilding of the temple. Rather, Artaxerxes was making sure that the temple would always have everything it needed to keep operating. In that way he was making sure that the temple would not languish and be disrespected, but rather, always be a vibrant place that was held in honor. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “to honor the temple of Yahweh” or “to make sure that the temple of Yahweh would always be a glorious place”