Meaning
See JONATHAN,9.
Two translations of the Hebrew phrase (`amadh `al-zo'th) are given:
(1) "stood over this matter," i.e. supported Ezra; so the King James Version ("were employed in this matter"), and so Septuagint, Esdras 9:14, the Revised Version margin. This is supported by 9:4, "Let now our princes be appointed for all the assembly," where the same phrase is found.
(2) the Revised Version (British and American) "stood up against this matter," so BDB, Gesenius, Bertheau, Stade.
Both translations can be supported by parallels in Hebrew. The context is better suited by the former rendering.
David Francis Roberts