Introduction to Ezra
7 After this, in the rule of Persia’s King Artaxerxes, Ezra son of Seraiah son of Azariah son of Hilkiah 2 son of Shallum son of Zadok son of Ahitub 3 son of Amariah son of Azariah son of Meraioth 4 son of Zerahiah son of Uzzi son of Bukki 5 son of Abishua son of Phinehas son of Eleazar son of Aaron the chief priest— 6 this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the Instruction from Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. Moreover, the king gave him everything he requested because the Lord his God’s power was with him.
7 Some of the Israelites and some of the priests and the Levites, the singers and gatekeepers and the temple servants also came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. 8 They reached Jerusalem in the fifth month, in the seventh year of the king. 9 The journey from Babylon began on the first day of the first month, and they came to Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was upon him. 10 Ezra had determined to study and perform the Lord’s Instruction, and to teach law and justice in Israel.
Letter from Artaxerxes
11 This is a copy of the letter that Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest and scribe, a scholar of the text of the Lord’s commandments and his requirements for Israel:
12 [a] Artaxerxes, king of kings,
to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the
Instruction from the God of heaven.
Peace![b]
And now 13 I decree that any of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom who volunteer to go to Jerusalem with you may go. 14 You are sent by the king and his seven counselors to investigate Judah and Jerusalem according to the Instruction from your God, which is in your hand.
15 You should bring the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 together with any of the silver and gold that you find in the entire province of Babylonia. You should also bring the spontaneous gifts of the people and the priests, given freely for God’s house in Jerusalem. 17 With this money you will be careful to buy bulls, rams, and lambs, as well as their grain offerings and their drink offerings. And you will offer them on the altar of God’s house in Jerusalem. 18 As long as it is God’s will, you and your colleagues may do what you think best with the rest of the silver and gold. 19 You will deliver the equipment that has been given to you for the service of God’s house to the God of Jerusalem. 20 If anything else is required for God’s house that you are responsible to provide, you may provide it from the royal treasury.
21 I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all of the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever Ezra the priest and scribe of the Instruction from the God of heaven requires of you, it must be provided precisely, 22 even up to one hundred kikkars of silver, one hundred kors of wheat, one hundred baths[c] of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and unlimited salt. 23 Whatever the God of heaven commands will be done carefully for the house of the God of heaven, or wrath will come upon the realm of the king and his heirs. 24 You must also know that it is illegal for you to charge tribute, custom, or dues on any of the priests and Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.
25 And you, Ezra, based on the divine wisdom that you have, appoint supervisors and judges to adjudicate among all the people in the province Beyond the River who know the laws of your God. You will also teach those who do not know them. 26 Let judgment be strictly carried out upon anyone who does not obey the Instruction from your God and the law of your king, including death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.
Ezra prepares to leave
27 Bless the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who has moved the king to glorify the Lord’s house in Jerusalem, 28 and who has demonstrated his graciousness for me before the king and his counselors and all the king’s mighty officers. I took courage because the Lord my God’s power was with me. I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.
Footnotes
- Ezra 7:12 7:12-26 is written in Aramaic.
- Ezra 7:12 Syr, Vulg 1 Esdr 8:9; Aram Perfect
- Ezra 7:22 One bath is approximately twenty quarts or five gallons.