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10 Now Ezra had dedicated himself[a] to the study of the law of the Lord, to its observance, and to teaching[b] its statutes and judgments in Israel.

Artaxerxes Gives Official Endorsement to Ezra’s Mission

11 What follows[c] is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priestly scribe.[d] Ezra was[e] a scribe in matters pertaining to the commandments of the Lord and his statutes over Israel:

12 [f] “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven:[g]

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 7:10 tn Heb “established his heart.”
  2. Ezra 7:10 tn Heb “to do and to teach.” The expression may be a hendiadys, in which case it would have the sense of “effectively teaching.”
  3. Ezra 7:11 tn Heb “this.”
  4. Ezra 7:11 tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.” So also in v. 21.
  5. Ezra 7:11 tn The words “Ezra was” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
  6. Ezra 7:12 sn Ezra 7:12-26 is written in Aramaic rather than Hebrew.
  7. Ezra 7:12 tn The verse ends with גְּמִיר וּכְעֶנֶת (gemir ukheʿenet) meaning “completed and now” or “perfect and now.” Some take the masculine form גְּמִיר (gemir) to apply to Ezra, as an expert scribe (Youngs, Holman, Darby). Many others take it as an abbreviated greeting “perfect (peace)” (KJV, NASB, ESV). Some simply render “Greetings” (NIV). The second term “and now” is understood either as beginning the letter’s text, i.e., that it belongs in the next verse (ESV), or as a form of “et cetera” meaning that the full introduction, whether of Ezra’s titles or of a lengthier list of greetings was deliberately omitted as extraneous to Ezra’s purposes here. The LXX interprets it as an introduction, “the message and answer are completed.”