OET interlinear EZRA 8:17

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

אוֹתָ⁠ם֙ עַל־אִדּ֣וֹ הָ⁠רֹ֔אשׁ בְּ⁠כָסִפְיָ֖א הַ⁠מָּק֑וֹם

,them on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in ˊIddō the,leader (Some words not found in UHB: and,, ,them on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in ˊIddō the,leader in,Casiphia the,place ,I,put in,mouth_of,their message to,speak to/towards ˊIddō his/its=brother the, in,Casiphia the,place to=bring to/for=us ministers for,the_house_of our_God_of,our )

The implication, since Ezra is trying to recruit Levites, is that Iddo was the leader of the Levites in that place. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could say that explicitly. Alternate translation: [them to speak to a man named Iddo, who was the leader of the Levites at a place called Kasiphia]

Note 2 topic: translate-names

אִדּ֣וֹ

ˊIddō

Iddo is the name of a man.

Note 3 topic: translate-names

בְּ⁠כָסִפְיָ֖א

(Some words not found in UHB: and,, ,them on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in ˊIddō the,leader in,Casiphia the,place ,I,put in,mouth_of,their message to,speak to/towards ˊIddō his/its=brother the, in,Casiphia the,place to=bring to/for=us ministers for,the_house_of our_God_of,our )

Kasiphia is the name of a place. Its exact location can no longer be identified.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וָ⁠אָשִׂימָ⁠ה֩ בְּ⁠פִי⁠הֶ֨ם דְּבָרִ֜ים לְ֠⁠דַבֵּר אֶל־אִדּ֨וֹ

(Some words not found in UHB: and,, ,them on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in ˊIddō the,leader in,Casiphia the,place ,I,put in,mouth_of,their message to,speak to/towards ˊIddō his/its=brother the, in,Casiphia the,place to=bring to/for=us ministers for,the_house_of our_God_of,our )

Putting words in someone’s mouth means telling them what to say. Alternate translation: [And I told them what to say to Iddo]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

אִדּ֨וֹ אָחִ֤י⁠ו הַנְּתִינִים֙ בְּ⁠כָסִפְיָ֣א הַ⁠מָּק֔וֹם

ˊIddō his/its=brother (Some words not found in UHB: and,, ,them on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in ˊIddō the,leader in,Casiphia the,place ,I,put in,mouth_of,their message to,speak to/towards ˊIddō his/its=brother the, in,Casiphia the,place to=bring to/for=us ministers for,the_house_of our_God_of,our )

Here, brothers is a figurative way of referring to people who belonged to groups that could serve in the temple, as Iddo did. (It is possible that some of his biological brothers are also included in this term.) In context, Iddo is a Levite leader, while the brothers are said to include temple servants, so the term indicates both groups. Alternate translation: [Iddo and his fellow Levites and the temple servants who were also living in Kasiphia]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations

לְ⁠הָֽבִיא־לָ֥⁠נוּ מְשָׁרְתִ֖ים לְ⁠בֵ֥ית אֱלֹהֵֽי⁠נוּ

to=bring to/for=us (Some words not found in UHB: and,, ,them on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in ˊIddō the,leader in,Casiphia the,place ,I,put in,mouth_of,their message to,speak to/towards ˊIddō his/its=brother the, in,Casiphia the,place to=bring to/for=us ministers for,the_house_of our_God_of,our )

This is the purpose for which Ezra sent the messengers to Iddo. If it would be helpful in your language, you could indicate that in your translation, or you could present this as a direct quotation. Alternate translation: [so that he would send us more people who could serve in the temple of our God] or, as a direct quotation, [to say, “Please send us some people who can serve in the temple of our God.”]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

לָ֥⁠נוּ

to/for=us

As Ezra tells his story, he uses us in the exclusive sense, that is, it excludes the reader.