After that in Revised Standard Version makes it appear that the continual burnt offerings were started after the “feast of booths.” But in verse 6 below it states that “burnt offerings” were started from “the first day of the seventh month,” which would be before the festival. The Hebrew word translated after that can also mean “other” or “another” and can be translated here as “in addition” (Good News Translation, New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible) or “besides” (Bible de Jérusalem). Bible en français courant begins this verse with “From then on they regularly offered the daily sacrifices” (also Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

One Hebrew manuscript and 1 Esdras insert “at the Sabbaths” before at the new moon (so New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible de Jérusalem). This was probably inserted because of the importance of the Sabbath offerings (see Num 28.9-10). Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives a B rating to the Hebrew text without this addition and is the preferred base for translation.

The offerings at the new moon were sacrifices made at the beginning of each lunar month (Num 28.11-15). The beginning of the seventh month was the most important occasion (Num 29.1-6). “The New Moon sacrifices,” as New International Version translates, were not sacrifices performed to worship the New Moon as a god or goddess, but rather they were sacrifices given to the LORD at the time of each new moon. Translators need to be careful to avoid confusion with any traditional worship that may be associated with the moon in the receptor culture.

All the appointed feasts of the LORD: These include the festivals of unleavened bread, weeks, and booths (Lev 23). These festivals are “holy” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible); they are “consecrated” to the LORD (Nouvelle version Segond révisée, Osty-Trinquet). For appointed feasts, several translations say “sacred seasons appointed” (New English Bible) or “sacred fixed times” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) from the basic meaning of the verb from which the Hebrew word for “festival” is formed.

Freewill offering refers to other offerings that were not prescribed but were given voluntarily by the people in thanksgiving to God (see the comment at Ezra 1.4).

Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Ezra. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .