Chapter One

1–22. Celebration of Passover in the eighteenth year of King Josiah. 23–24. General remark on Josiah’s reign. 25–34. War of Josiah with the Egyptian Pharaoh and the death of Josiah. 34–36. Reign of Jeconiah. 37–42. Reign of Joiakim and the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar. 43–45. Reign of Jeconiah. 46–58. Reign of Zedekiah and the beginning of the Babylonian captivity.

1 Esdras 1:1. And Josiah celebrated a Passover to the Lord his God, and slew the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month, 1. On the fourteenth day of the first month, that is, Nisan, the first month of the ecclesiastical year. The first month of the civil year was Tishri.

1 Esdras 1:2. Having set the priests in their orders in their vestments in the temple of the Lord. 1 Esdras 1:3. And he said to the Levites, the sacred ministers of Israel: sanctify yourselves to the Lord, to place the holy ark of the Lord in the house which king Solomon son of David built. 3. And he said to the Levites, the sacred ministers (ίεροδουλοις) of Israel. The writer uses the designation ίεροδουλος in a general sense, not having in mind the Nethinim, who are usually called by this name. In the corresponding passage of 2 Chronicles the LXX reads: “the mighty ones.”

1 Esdras 1:4. You will not need to carry it on your shoulders; serve now the Lord your God, and care for his people Israel, and arrange yourselves by families and by generations according to the order of David, king of Israel, and according to the magnificence of Solomon his son, 3–4. “Sanctify yourselves to place the holy ark of the Lord in the house.” “You will not need to carry it on your shoulders.” The ark of the covenant had already been in the temple since the time of Solomon (1 Kgs 8:6). Therefore the statements of verses 3–4 raise a question. This question Michaellis and Movers resolve by the supposition that the ark of the covenant, in the time of Josiah’s ungodly predecessors Manasseh and Amon, to prevent its desecration, was removed somewhere from the temple.

1 Esdras 1:5. And standing in the sanctuary, in the divisions of the Levitical families in front of your brothers, the sons of Israel, 1 Esdras 1:6. Slay the Passover lamb according to the ordinance and prepare the sacrifices for your brothers and perform the Passover according to the command of the Lord given to Moses. 1 Esdras 1:7. And Josiah gave as a gift to the people who were gathered there thirty thousand lambs and goats and three thousand cattle; these were given from the royal herds to the people and to the priests and to the Levites. 1 Esdras 1:8. And Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, who were in charge of the house, gave to the priests for the Passover two thousand six hundred sheep and three hundred cattle. 8. The Hilkiah mentioned in verse 8 is the high priest Hilkiah, who found the book of the Law in the time of King Josiah (2 Kgs 22). Zechariah and Jehiel, named in verse 8, were in charge of the house. In other places it is usually spoken of only one who was in charge.

1 Esdras 1:9. And Jehoniah and Shemaiah and Nathanael his brother, and Hashabiah and Ochiel and Joram, commanders of thousands, gave to the Levites for the Passover five thousand sheep and seven hundred cattle. 9. In 2 Chronicles XXXV different names are listed: Conaniah (instead of Jehoniah), Shemaiah (instead of Shemaiah), Nathanael (instead of Nathanael), Hashabiah (instead of Hashabiah), Jehiel (instead of Ochiel), Jozabad (instead of Joram). These persons are called commanders of thousands. But according to 2 Chr 35:9, they were chiefs of the Levites.

1 Esdras 1:10. And when this was happening, the priests and Levites stood in proper attire by families and hereditary divisions, holding the unleavened cakes before the people, 1 Esdras 1:11. To offer sacrifices to the Lord as prescribed in the book of Moses. And this was in the early morning. 11. “And this was in the early morning.” The reference is to the sacrifice.

1 Esdras 1:12. And they roasted the Passover lamb with fire as it should be, and the sacrifices they boiled in bronze vessels and kettles with spices, and distributed them to all the people. 1 Esdras 1:13. And afterwards they prepared for themselves and for the priests, their brothers, the sons of Aaron. 1 Esdras 1:14. For because the priests were offering the fat until late, the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, their brothers, the sons of Aaron. 1 Esdras 1:15. The singers, the sons of Asaph, were at their stations according to the command of David, and Asaph and Zechariah and Eddinus, who was from the king. 15. And Asaph and Zechariah and Eddinus. In 2 Chronicles XXXV the names are in the genitive case (“according to the command of David, Asaph” etc.), and instead of Zechariah are mentioned Heman and instead of Eddinus – Jeduthun. Instead of “who was from the king” (ό παρά τού βασιλ.) it is better according to manuscripts 11, 44, 55, 58, 71, 74, 106 and the Syriac to read “who were from the king” (οί παρά τού βασ.).

1 Esdras 1:16. And the gatekeepers at each gate were not permitted to leave their post, because their brothers the Levites prepared for them. 1 Esdras 1:17. And on that day was completed all that belonged to the sacrifice to the Lord at the celebration of the Passover, 1 Esdras 1:18. And to the offering of burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord according to the command of King Josiah. 1 Esdras 1:19. And the sons of Israel who were there at that time celebrated the Passover and the feast of unleavened cakes for seven days. 1 Esdras 1:20. Such a Passover had never been celebrated in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel. 1 Esdras 1:21. And none of all the kings of Israel celebrated such a Passover as Josiah did, and the priests and Levites and Judeans and all the Israelites who were dwelling in Jerusalem at that time. 1 Esdras 1:22. In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this Passover celebrated. 1 Esdras 1:23. And the affairs of Josiah were directed rightly before the Lord from a heart full of piety. 1 Esdras 1:24. And what occurred in his time is described in the former chronicles of those who sinned and acted godlessly against the Lord more than any people and kingdom, and how they knowingly provoked him, and for which reason the words of the Lord rose up against Israel. 24. “And what occurred in his time.” Josiah reigned thirty-one years. – “In the former chronicles,” in the Greek εν τοις έμπρθσοεν χρόνοις – in former times. – “And for which reason the words of the Lord rose up against Israel,” that is, the divine threats were fulfilled.

1 Esdras 1:25. And after all these deeds of Josiah, it happened that Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, marched to make war at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to meet him. 25. From verse 25, the circumstances of Josiah’s death are related. – “Pharaoh, the king of Egypt” – Pharaoh Necho (Neco of Herodotus, Necu of the monuments). – “Carchemish” (“fortress of Chemosh”), a city that served as the key to the entrance into Palestine.

1 Esdras 1:26. The king of Egypt sent word to him, saying: What have you to do with me, O king of Judea? 1 Esdras 1:27. I am not sent against you from the Lord God; my war is against the Euphrates, and now the Lord is with me and the Lord urges me on; stand aside and do not oppose the Lord. 27. “I am not sent against you from the Lord God... Now the Lord is with me.” Hardly is the Lord – Jehovah – meant in these words. The Egyptians also recognized a single Supreme Being who guides their actions. In an inscription from 750 B.C. one of the Egyptian kings says: “Do you not know that the shadow of God was upon me. I do not act without his command. He directs my deeds” (Bissell).

1 Esdras 1:28. But Josiah did not return to his chariot, but decided to fight with him, not heeding the words of the prophet Jeremiah from the mouth of the Lord. 28. “But Josiah did not return to his chariot,” that is, did not abandon his intention. In some manuscripts: “and Josiah did not turn from him his weapon.”

1 Esdras 1:29. And he engaged him in battle at the field of Megiddo. And the commanders gathered toward King Josiah. 29. “At the field of Megiddo,” the modern El-Lessun on the caravan road from Egypt to Damascus. – “And the commanders gathered toward King Josiah”: according to 2 Chr 35:22 – “and the archers shot at King Josiah.”

1 Esdras 1:30. And the king said to his servants: Take me away from the field of battle, for I am very weak. And his servants immediately carried him out of the line. 1 Esdras 1:31. And he mounted his second chariot and, returning to Jerusalem, died and was buried in the tomb of his fathers. 31. “And he mounted his second chariot,” – apparently, a chariot more suitable for travel. According to 2 Kgs 23:29-30, Josiah died on the field of Megiddo.

1 Esdras 1:32. And they wept for Josiah throughout all Judea, and the prophet Jeremiah wept for Josiah, and the leaders with women lamented him to this day. And this was ordained as a lasting memorial to all the house of Israel. 1 Esdras 1:33. This is written in the chronicles of the kings of Judea, and the things which Josiah did and his glory and his understanding of the law of the Lord; what he did formerly and the things now mentioned are described in the book of the kings of Israel and Judea. 1 Esdras 1:34. And the people took Jeconiah [Joahaz], son of Josiah, and made him king in place of Josiah his father, when he was twenty-three years old. 34. “And the people took Jeconiah, son of Josiah, and made him king.” The successor of Josiah was not Jeconiah, but Joahaz, who was also called Shallum (2 Kgs 23:30). In many manuscripts there is the reading Ί εχονίαν (55, 68, 93, 236 Vat., Latin, Vulgate), but in other manuscripts (as also in the Slavonic) according to the Hebrew Joahaz is read.

1 Esdras 1:35. And he reigned in Judea and Jerusalem three months, and the king of Egypt deposed him so that he should not reign in Jerusalem. 35. “And he reigned in Judea,” in some Greek manuscripts: “in Israel.”

1 Esdras 1:36. And he imposed a tribute on the people of a hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold. 36. The relatively small monetary tribute imposed by the victor was, of course, only a supplement to the territory that had been taken.

1 Esdras 1:37. And the king of Egypt made Joiakim, his brother, king of Judea and Jerusalem. 1 Esdras 1:38. And he imprisoned the nobles, and Zarak, his brother, he took away into Egypt. 38. “And he imprisoned the nobles, and Zarak, his brother, he took away into Egypt.” In the Vatican codex, which our Slavonic follows, the same passage reads: “and imprisoned Joiakim the noble Zarak, his brother, having captured [him], brought from Egypt” (Slavonic “Zarak even his brother seizing brought out of Egypt”). The report is obscure and evidently erroneous. According to the reading accepted in the Russian text, the discussion is apparently about the Egyptian king, whereby it is reported that he imprisoned the nobles of Joahaz and took his brother Zarak away to Egypt. Zarak, however, is not mentioned in other places in the Bible.

1 Esdras 1:39. Joiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king over Judea and Jerusalem, and he did what was evil before the Lord. 1 Esdras 1:40. Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and bound him with bronze chains and took him to Babylon. 40. According to 2 Kgs 24:6; Jer 22:19, Joiakim died in Jerusalem. One can reconcile these accounts with verse 41 by supposing that Nebuchadnezzar did not carry out his original intention, and Joiakim was not taken to Babylon, but was released on the way. Later, for a new revolt, Joiakim was killed and denied burial.

1 Esdras 1:41. And taking some of the sacred vessels of the Lord, Nebuchadnezzar carried them away and placed them in his temple in Babylon. 1 Esdras 1:42. The accounts concerning him, his wickedness and impiety, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings. 1 Esdras 1:43. And Jeconiah, his son, reigned in his place; he was eighteen years old when he was appointed king. 43. “And Jeconiah, his son, reigned in his place.” This means Jehoiachin or Jeconiah.

1 Esdras 1:44. And he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days, and he did what was evil before the Lord. 44. In determining the length of Jeconiah’s reign, 2 Ezra follows 2 Chronicles XXXVI:9, not 2 Kgs 24:8, where a round number is given.

1 Esdras 1:45. And after a year Nebuchadnezzar sent and took him to Babylon along with the sacred vessels of the Lord, 45. “And after a year Nebuchadnezzar sent and took him to Babylon.” “After a year” is an absurd statement (compare verse 44), which is understood to mean: “at the end of the year” (Michaellis), or “in the spring, when campaigns begin” (Bissell).

1 Esdras 1:46. And appointed king of Judea and Jerusalem Zedekiah, who was twenty-one years old. He reigned eleven years. 1 Esdras 1:47. And he did what was evil before the Lord, not heeding the words spoken by the prophet Jeremiah from the mouth of the Lord. 1 Esdras 1:48. And when he was bound by an oath from King Nebuchadnezzar in the name of the Lord, he broke the oath, rebelled, and hardening his neck and his heart, transgressed the laws of the Lord God of Israel. 1 Esdras 1:49. Also the leaders of the people and the priests acted very impiously, exceeding all the uncleanness of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord which was made holy in Jerusalem. 1 Esdras 1:50. The God of their fathers sent his messengers to them calling them to repentance, for he spared them and his dwelling place; 50. “Sent his messengers”: in larger manuscripts in the singular: “sent his messenger.”

1 Esdras 1:51. But they mocked his messengers: on the very day when the Lord spoke, they scoffed at his prophets, 1 Esdras 1:52. Until he became angry with his people for their impiety, he commanded the kings of the Chaldeans to rise up against them. 1 Esdras 1:53. They slew the young men with the sword around their holy temple and did not spare young or old, nor maiden or aged, but all were delivered into their hands. 1 Esdras 1:54. And all the holy vessels of the Lord, both great and small, and the vessels of the ark of the Lord and the royal treasures, they took and carried away to Babylon. 1 Esdras 1:55. And they burned the house of the Lord and tore down the walls of Jerusalem and burned its towers with fire, 1 Esdras 1:56. And all its splendor they turned to destruction; and those who were spared from the sword they carried away to Babylon. 1 Esdras 1:57. And they were slaves to him and to his sons until the dominion of the Persians, in fulfillment of the word of the Lord from the mouth of Jeremiah: 1 Esdras 1:58. Until the land had made up for its sabbaths, throughout all the time of its desolation, for seventy years, it shall keep sabbath. 58. The literal words of verse 57 (“from the mouth of Jeremiah”) are not found in the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah spoke only of 70 years of captivity (XXV:11–12; XXIX:10). The words of verse 58 more closely align with Leviticus XXVI:34–35. The seventy-year captivity is considered as granting the land the rest which it lacked because of the breach by the Jews of the law concerning the sabbatical year.