Synopsis of the Chapter
The Jews who returned with Ezra from Babylon to Judea are listed by families. Likewise the vessels, gifts, and sacrifices which they offered to God.
Verse 1: Who Went Up with Me ¶
1. Who went up with me. — From this it is clear that Ezra wrote this catalog, and that he is the author of this book.
Verse 13: Who Were the Last ¶
13. Who were the last — that is, those who last of all joined themselves to Ezra, to return with him to Jerusalem.
Verse 17: Iddo, Chief in the Place of Casiphia ¶
17. And I sent them to Iddo, who is chief (the leader) in the place of Casiphia. — "Casiphia" was a village or district in Babylon, in which Jews lived separated from the Chaldeans, and of which village or district Iddo was the chief.
Verse 21: I Proclaimed a Fast ¶
21. And I proclaimed (that is, I appointed and publicly announced a general) fast, etc., that we might ask of Him a safe journey — that is, that God might lead us safe and sound by a direct road through so many enemies, dangers, and winding paths to Jerusalem, and prosper all our affairs.
Verse 23: We Besought Our God ¶
23. We besought our God for this (the Hebrew and Septuagint: For this, or on account of this, that is, that on account of this fast He might direct and prosper our journey; which He did: for) it turned out well for us. — See here how powerful before God is prayer armed with fasting, so that it seems to do violence to God to grant what is asked.
Verse 27: Twenty Golden Bowls ¶
27. And twenty golden bowls which had (a weight, that is, weighed) a thousand solidi. — The Hebrew and Septuagint read: a thousand drachmas.
Verse 35: They Offered Holocausts ¶
35. They offered holocausts. — A holocaust was properly a sacrifice in which the entire victim was burned in honor of God; but here it is taken more broadly for any offering, even one offered for sin, as follows. See what was said on Leviticus 1 and following.
Verse 36: They Supported the People ¶
36. And they supported the people — that is, the satraps and governors of the Persians exalted the Jews with their patronage, favor, help, and resources, by promoting the building of the temple, encouraging, assisting, providing provisions, and offering gifts, as Artaxerxes had commanded them in the preceding chapter.