Bible Buk Namba 15​—Ezra

Man wea Raetem: Ezra

Ples Hem Raetem: Jerusalem

Taem Hem Finis Raetem: c. 460 B.C.E.

Taem Hem Storyim: 537–c. 467 B.C.E.

END bilong 70 year wea Jerusalem hem stap emti wea olketa talem profesi finis abaotem, hem kam klosap nao. Hem tru, hem no wei bilong Babylon for no releasem olketa prisoner, bat toktok bilong Jehovah bae strong winim strong bilong Babylon. Taem for pipol bilong Jehovah kamap free hem klosap. Temple bilong Jehovah wea olketa spoelem olketa bae buildim bak moa, and altar bilong Jehovah bae kasem moa olketa sakrifaes for kavarem sin. Jerusalem bae herem moa singaot and praise bilong olketa tru worshiper bilong Jehovah. Jeremiah talem profesi abaot hao long nao Jerusalem bae stap emti, and Isaiah talem profesi abaotem hao nao olketa prisoner bae kamap free. Isaiah talem hao Cyrus bilong Persia bae olsem ‘shepherd bilong Jehovah,’ wea bae mekem praodfala Babylon for foldaon from position bilong hem olsem mek-thri world paoa long history bilong Bible.—Isa. 44:28; 45:1, 2; Jer. 25:12.

² Bigfala trabol kasem Babylon long naet bilong October 5, 539 B.C.E. (Gregorian kalenda), taem king bilong Babylon Belshazzar and olketa bigman bilong hem go ahed for drink and mekhae long olketa demon god bilong olketa. For addim go moa rabis wei bilong olketa, olketa iusim olketa holy samting from temple bilong Jehovah olsem olketa kap bilong olketa for drunk! Hem barava fitim for Cyrus stap aotsaed long olketa wall bilong Babylon long datfala naet for fulfillim datfala profesi!

³ Disfala date 539 B.C.E. hem barava important date, hem nao, wanfala date wea savve fitim world and Bible history. Insaed firstfala year bilong hem olsem ruler bilong Babylon, Cyrus “talemaot wanfala toktok for go aot long evri ples long rul bilong hem,” and givim paoa long olketa Jew for go ap long Jerusalem for buildim moa haos bilong Jehovah. Luk olsem olketa talemaot disfala law long end bilong 538 B.C.E. or long start bilong 537 B.C.E.a Wanfala faithful remnant go bak long Jerusalem long barava taem for wakem datfala altar and offerim first sakrifaes long “mek-seven month” (Tishri, semsem witim September-October) bilong year 537 B.C.E.—barava 70 year bihaen Nebuchadnezzar finisim Judah and Jerusalem.—Ezra 1:1-3; 3:1-6.

⁴ Buildim bak! Diswan kamap setting long buk bilong Ezra. Wei wea Ezra story abaotem hemseleva from chapter 7 verse 27 go kasem chapter 9 verse 15 showimaot klia hao hem nao raetem. Olsem “man wea savve tumas for copyim law bilong Moses” and wanfala man bilong faith wea “redim heart bilong hem for lukluk long law bilong Jehovah and for duim and for teachim,” Ezra barava fit for recordim disfala history, olsem hem recordim finis Chronicles. (Ezra 7:6, 10) From buk bilong Ezra join bihaen Chronicles, olketa bilivim hao hem raetem long semtaem, long samting olsem 460 B.C.E. Hem storyim 70 year, from taem wea olketa Jew stap olsem wanfala nation wea brekdaon, wea stap olobaot and olketa markem olsem “olketa son bilong dae” go kasem taem wea olketa finisim mek-tu temple and klinim sekson bilong olketa priest bihaen Ezra kam bak long Jerusalem.—Ezra 1:1; 7:7; 10:17; Ps. 102:20, footnote.

⁵ Hebrew nem Ezra minim “Help.” Tufala buk bilong Ezra and Nehemiah firstaem insaed wanfala scroll. (Neh. 3:32, footnote) Bihaen olketa Jew divaedem disfala scroll and kolem hem First and Second Ezra. Olketa Hebrew Bible distaem kolem tufala buk hia Ezra and Nehemiah, olsem olketa nara Bible distaem tu. Part long buk bilong Ezra (4:8 go kasem 6:18 and 7:12-26) olketa raetem long Aramaic languis and nara haf long Hebrew, and Ezra savve tumas long tufala languis hia.

⁶ Klosap evri savveman distaem acceptim wei wea buk bilong Ezra hem stret evribit. Abaotem wei wea Ezra hem part long olketa Holy Scripture, W. F. Albright raet olsem long buk bilong hem The Bible After Twenty Years of Archaeology: “Information bilong wei for studyim oldfala samting showimaot olketa buk bilong Jeremiah and Ezekiel, bilong Ezra and Nehemiah garem trufala faondeson wea iumi no fit for daotem; olketa showimaot olketa samting wea happen, and wei wea olketa samting hia stap long order.”

⁷ Nomata maet olketa man wea raetem Christian Greek Scripture no talem eni toktok from buk bilong Ezra, no eni daot stap abaotem wei wea hem part long Bible. Hem garem record bilong wei wea Jehovah deal witim olketa Jew kam kasem taem wea olketa hipimap Hebrew part long Bible, waka wea Ezra nao duim main part long hem, olsem kastom bilong Jew showimaot. Winim datwan, buk bilong Ezra mekhae long evri profesi abaotem wei for buildim temple moa and diswan pruvim hem barava important part bilong record wea kam from God, wea hem agree witim tu. And tu, hem givim honor long klin worship and mekem holy bigfala nem bilong Jehovah God.

WEI WEA HEM HELPEM IUMI

¹⁴ Buk bilong Ezra savve helpem iumi, firstaem, long wei wea hem showimaot hao olketa profesi bilong Jehovah fulfill evribit. Jeremiah, wea barava talemaot stret taem wea Jerusalem hem stap emti, talemaot tu wei wea olketa bae buildim moa bihaen 70 year. (Jer. 29:10) Long barava taem, Jehovah showimaot loving-kaeness bilong hem taem hem bringim pipol bilong hem, wanfala faithful remnant, for kam bak insaed Land bilong Promis for go ahed long tru worship.

¹⁵ Temple wea olketa buildim bak hem mekhae moa long worship bilong Jehovah midolwan long pipol bilong hem, and diswan pruvim nambawan wei wea hem blessim olketa wea tan go long hem witim feeling for wantem trufala worship. Nomata hem no garem glory olsem temple bilong Solomon, hem fitim will bilong God. Hem nating garem spesol material samting. Hem nating garem tu olketa spesol spiritual treasure, wea wanfala long olketa nao ark bilong covenant.b Dedication bilong temple bilong Zerubbabel nating olsem dedication bilong temple long taem bilong Solomon. Olketa sakrifaes bilong buluka and sheep no kasem nomata wan percent long sakrifaes long temple bilong Solomon. No eni glory wea olsem cloud hem fulimap temple, olsem hem fulimap first wan, and no eni fire tu kam daon from Jehovah for bonem olketa sakrifaes hia. Bat, tufala temple evriwan barava important saed long wei for mekhae long worship bilong Jehovah, datfala tru God.

¹⁶ Datfala temple wea Zerubbabel buildim, datfala tabernacle wea Moses wakem, and olketa temple wea Solomon and Herod buildim, witim evri part bilong olketa, hem piksarem samting. Olketa hia stand for datfala “trufala tent, wea Jehovah wakem, and no man.” (Heb. 8:2) Disfala spiritual temple hem arrangement for kam klosap long Jehovah long worship long faondeson bilong sakrifaes bilong Christ wea kavarem sin. (Heb. 9:2-10, 23) Bigfala spiritual temple bilong Jehovah hem garem glory wea moa hae and hem luk naes winim evri samting; wei wea hem spesol hem no savve finis, and hem hae winim eni physical building.

¹⁷ Buk bilong Ezra garem olketa barava important leson for olketa Christian distaem. Insaed long hem iumi read abaotem wei wea pipol bilong Jehovah willing for mekem olketa sakrifaes for waka bilong hem. (Ezra 2:68; 2 Cor. 9:7) Hem encouragem iumi taem iumi lanem wei wea Jehovah no savve fail for provaedem and givim blessing long olketa hipap for praise bilong hem. (Ezra 6:16, 22) Iumi lukim nambawan example long Nethinim and olketa nara man from difren kantri wea biliv and go witim remnant for sapotim worship bilong Jehovah witim full heart. (2:43, 55) Tingim, tu, wei wea pipol hia hambol for repent taem olketa kasem advaes long wei wea olketa rong for maritim olketa heathen neiba bilong olketa. (10:2-4) Nogud kaban lead go long wei for God no hapi long olketa. (9:14, 15) Wei for hapi and strong long waka bilong hem bringim blessing bilong hem.—6:14, 21, 22.

¹⁸ Nomata no eni king sidaon moa long throne bilong Jehovah long Jerusalem, wei wea olketa buildim moa temple strongim hope bilong olketa hao Jehovah, long taem bilong hem, bae givim King wea hem promisim long laen bilong David. Datfala nation wea olketa buildim moa hem stap nao long position for gardim olketa holy toktok bilong God and worship bilong God go kasem taem wea Messiah kam. Sapos disfala remnant no showimaot faith for go bak long land bilong olketa, bae Messiah kam long hu? Tru nao, olketa samting wea happen insaed buk bilong Ezra hem wanfala important part bilong history wea lead go long taem wea Messiah and King bae stap! Hem bae helpem iumi tumas for studyim distaem.

[Olketa Footnote]