And afterward offered the continual burnt offerings, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD.
Read Chapter 3
Bede
AD 735
At that very time Tattenai, who was governor beyond the river, and Shethar-Bozenai and their counsellors came to them and spoke to them as follows, 'Who counselled you to build this house and restore these walls?' At which we answered them with the names of the men who were responsible for that building. But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were unable to stop them. The literal meaning is clear, namely that the leaders of the Jews, strengthened by the prophets' words, could not be hindered by the harrying of the enemies from the holy work, from which they had ceased out of fear of the enemies when the prophets still remained silent. This occurs in the same way in the Holy Church now when those who have been held back by the attacks of wicked people or spirits and have remained for a while rather lax with respect to good deeds are suddenly set straight by the words either of faithful teachers or of the divine Scriptures and begin to burn so greatly for righteous pursuits that they cannot be overcome by any wiles of temptations or be called back from what they intended to do. One rightly asks, however, in what sense it is said, At which we answered them, as though the one who wrote it was himself present at the time, in view of the fact that Ezra, who is said to have written this book, was apparently not in Jerusalem at this time but came long afterwards when Artaxerxes was ruling. So either he actually was there while the temple was being built and went back to Babylon when it was finished to lead back more of the children of Israel to Jerusalem; or at any rate, even if he was not yet there when the temple was being built, he nevertheless united himself to those who were doing the building because he reckoned as his own all that was done to his brethren or whatever they themselves did. Similarly, through the harmony of this same brotherhood the Apostle associates himself in a certain sense with those saints who will come into being at the end of the world: We, he says, who are still alive, who are left at the coming of our Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
