Ezra 2 · Verse 63

Ezra 2:63

And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.
Ezra 2:63, King James Version

Ezra 2:63 in other translations

BSBThe governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.
WEBThe governor told them that they should not eat of the most holy things until a priest stood up to serve with Urim and with Thummim.
ASVAnd the governor said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.
YLTand the Tirshatha saith to them, that they eat not of the most holy things till the standing up of a priest with Urim and with Thummim.
DARBYAnd the Tirshatha said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.
BBEAnd the Tirshatha said that they were not to have the most holy things for their food, till a priest came to give decision by Urim and Thummim.
WebsterAnd the Tirshatha said to them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.

What does Ezra 2:63 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
63. Tirshatha--a title borne by the Persian governors of Judea (see also Ne 7:65-70; 8:9; 10:1). It is derived from the Persian torsh ("severe"), and is equivalent to "your severity," "your awfulness."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 63 The Tirshatha - This is generally supposed to be Nehemiah, or the person who was the commandant; see Neh 8:9; Neh 10:1, for the word appears to be the name of an office. The Vulgate and Septuagint write it Atershatha, the Syriac and Arabic render it the princes of Judah. Some suppose the word to be Persian, but nothing like it of the same import occurs in that language at present. If, as Castel supposed, it signifies austerity, or that fear which is unpressed by the authority of a governor, it may come from ters, Fear, or tersh, Acid, the former from tarsidan, to Fear or Dread. Should not eat of the most holy things - There was a high priest then, but no Urim and Thummim, these having been lost in the captivity.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ezra 2:36-63

Those who undervalue their relation to the Lord in times of reproach, persecution, or distress, will have no benefit from it when it becomes honourable or profitable. Those who have no evidence that they are, by the new birth, spiritual priests unto God, through Jesus Christ, have no right to the comforts and privileges of Christians.

Read the full comment on Ezra 2:36-63 →

Ezra 2:63 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֤אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
הַתִּרְשָׁ֙תָא֙ha.tir.Sha.ta'the governorH8660
לָהֶ֔םla.Hemto them
אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.SherthatH834
לֹא\־lo'-notH3808
יֹאכְל֖וּyo.khe.Luthey will eatH398
מִקֹּ֣דֶשׁmi.Ko.deshany of [the] holy thing ofH6944
הַקֳּדָשִׁ֑יםha.ko.da.Shimthe holy thingsH6944
עַ֛ד'aduntilH5704
עֲמֹ֥ד'a.Modwill ariseH5975
כֹּהֵ֖ןko.Hena priestH3548
לְאוּרִ֥יםle.'u.Rimto UrimH224
וּלְתֻמִּֽים\׃u.le.tu.Mimand to ThummimH8550

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ezra 2:63

  • Numbers 27:21

    And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the Lord: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.

  • Leviticus 2:10

    And that which is left of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire.

  • Exodus 28:30

    And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.

  • Leviticus 2:3

    And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire.

  • Leviticus 22:10

    There shall no stranger eat of the holy thing: a sojourner of the priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing.

  • Nehemiah 8:9

    And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.

  • Deuteronomy 33:8

    And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;

  • Leviticus 6:29

    All the males among the priests shall eat thereof: it is most holy.

  • Leviticus 10:17-18

    Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded.

  • Leviticus 7:16

    But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten:

  • Nehemiah 7:65

    And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim.

  • Numbers 18:32

    And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best of it: neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest ye die.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Tirshatha. or, governor.The person who held this office at this time was probably Zerubbabel. The word {Tirshatha} is supposed to be Persian; and if, as Castel supposes, it signifies austerity, or that fear which is impressed by the authority of a governor, it may be derived from {tars,} "ear," or {tursh,} "acid, austere."
Ne 7:65; 8:9; 10:1
should not.
Le 2:3,10; 6:17,29; 7:16; 10:17,18; 22:2,3,10,14-16; Nu 18:9-11,19
Nu 18:32
Urim.
Ex 28:30; Le 8:8; Nu 27:21; De 33:8; 1Sa 28:6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Ezra 2:62

    These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.

  • Ezra 2:63

    And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.

  • Ezra 2:64

    The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore,

Read all of Ezra 2

Ezra 2:63 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y el Tirsatha les dijo que no comiesen de las cosas más santas, hasta que hubiese sacerdote con Urim y Thummim.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et le Thirshatha leur dit qu’ils ne devaient point manger des choses très saintes, jusqu’à ce que soit suscité un sacrificateur avec les urim et les thummim.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und der Tirsatha sprach zu ihnen, daß sie von dem Hochheiligen nicht essen dürften, bis ein Priester für die Urim und die Thummim aufstände.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et dixit Athersatha eis ut non comederent de Sancto sanctorum, donec surgeret sacerdos doctus atque perfectus.