Ezra Journeys from Babylon to Jerusalem

7 ^(A)Now after these things, in the reign of ^(B)Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra went up to Jerusalem; Ezra was the 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 So this Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a ^(C)scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all ^[a]he requested ^(D)because the hand of the Lord his God was upon him. ^7 (E)Some of the sons of Israel and some of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

⁸ And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. ⁹ For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, ^(F)because the good hand of his God was upon him. ¹⁰ For Ezra had ^[b]firmly resolved to study the Law of the Lord and to practice it, and ^(G)to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.

King’s Decree on Behalf of Ezra

¹¹ Now this is the copy of the letter which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, ^[c]learned in the words of the commandments of the Lord and His statutes to Israel: ¹² “^[d]Artaxerxes, ^(H)king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, ^[e]perfect peace. And now ^13 (I)I have issued a decree that any of the people of Israel and their priests and the Levites in my kingdom who are willing to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. ¹⁴ Since you are sent ^[f]on the part of the king and his ^(J)seven advisers to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God which is in your hand, ¹⁵ and to bring the silver and gold, which the king and his advisers have voluntarily given to the God of Israel, ^(K)whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, ¹⁶ with ^(L)all the silver and gold which you find in the entire province of Babylon, along ^(M)with the ^[g]voluntary offering of the people and of the priests, who ^(N)offered willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem; ¹⁷ with this money, therefore, you shall diligently buy bulls, rams, and lambs, ^(O)with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and ^(P)offer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. ¹⁸ And whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do according to the will of your God. ¹⁹ Also the utensils which are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem. ²⁰ And the rest of the needs of the house of your God, for which it may be incumbent upon you to provide, ^(Q)provide for them from the royal treasury.

²¹ “I myself, King Artaxerxes, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the provinces beyond the Euphrates River, that whatever Ezra the priest, ^(R)the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it shall be done diligently, ²² up to ^[h]a hundred talents of silver, ^[i]a hundred kors of wheat, ^[j]a hundred baths of wine, ^[k]a hundred baths of anointing oil, and salt ^[l]as needed. ²³ Whatever is ^[m]commanded by the God of heaven, it shall be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven, ^(S)so that there will not be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons. ²⁴ We also inform you that ^(T)it is not allowed to impose tax, tribute, or toll ^(U)on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

²⁵ “And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God which is in your hand, ^(V)appoint magistrates and judges so that they may judge all the people who are in the province beyond the Euphrates River, that is, all those who know the laws of your God; and you may ^(W)teach anyone who is ignorant of them. ²⁶ And ^(X)whoever does not comply with the Law of your God and the law of the king, judgment is to be executed upon him strictly, whether for death or for banishment, or for ^[n]confiscation of property or for imprisonment.”

The King’s Kindness

²⁷ Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, ^(Y)who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to glorify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, ²⁸ and ^(Z)has extended favor to me before the king and his counselors and before all the king’s mighty officials. So I was strengthened according to ^(AA)the hand of the Lord my God that was upon me, and I gathered ^[o]leading men from Israel to go up with me.

Instructions to Those Who Minister

6 ^(A)All who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor ^(B)so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be ^[a]spoken against. ² Those who have believers as their masters must not be disrespectful to them because they are ^(C)brothers or sisters, but must serve them all the more, because those who ^[b]partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. ^(D)Teach and ^[c]preach these principles.

³ If anyone ^(E)advocates a different doctrine and does not ^[d]agree with ^(F)sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine ^(G)conforming to godliness, ⁴ he is ^(H)conceited and understands nothing; but he ^[e]has a sick craving for ^(I)controversial questions and ^(J)disputes about words, from which come envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, ⁵ and constant friction between ^(K)people of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who ^(L)suppose that ^[f]godliness is a means of gain. ^6 (M)But godliness actually is a means of ^(N)great gain when accompanied by ^(O)contentment. ⁷ For ^(P)we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it, either. ⁸ If we ^(Q)have food and ^[g]covering, with these we shall be content. ^9 (R)But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and ^(S)a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For ^(T)the love of money is a root of all ^[h]sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have ^(U)wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many ^[i]griefs.

¹¹ But ^(V)flee from these things, you ^(W)man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, ^(X)faith, ^(Y)love, ^[j]perseverance, and gentleness. ^12 (Z)Fight the good fight of ^(AA)faith; ^(AB)take hold of the eternal life ^(AC)to which you were called, and for which you made the good ^(AD)confession in the presence of ^(AE)many witnesses. ^13 (AF)I direct you in the presence of God, who ^[k]gives life to all things, and of ^(AG)Christ Jesus, who testified the ^(AH)good confession ^(AI)before Pontius Pilate, ¹⁴ that you keep the commandment without ^[l]fault or reproach until the ^(AJ)appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ which He will ^[m]bring about at ^(AK)the proper time—He who is ^(AL)the blessed and ^(AM)only Sovereign, ^(AN)the King of ^[n]kings and ^(AO)Lord of ^[o]lords, ^16 (AP)who alone possesses immortality and ^(AQ)dwells in unapproachable light, ^(AR)whom ^[p]no one has seen or can see. ^(AS)To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

¹⁷ Instruct those who are rich in ^(AT)this present world ^(AU)not to be conceited or to ^(AV)set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, ^(AW)who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. ¹⁸ Instruct them to do good, to be rich in ^(AX)good ^[q]works, ^(AY)to be generous and ready to share, ^19 (AZ)storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may ^(BA)take hold of that which is truly life.

^20 (BB)Timothy, protect ^(BC)what has been entrusted to you, avoiding ^(BD)worldly, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”— ²¹ which some have professed and thereby have ^(BE)gone astray ^[r]from ^(BF)the faith.

^(BG)Grace be with you.

Ezra Sends for Levites

¹⁵ Now I assembled them at ^(A)the river that runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days; and when I paid close attention to the people and the priests, I ^(B)did not find any Levites there. ¹⁶ So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, ^[a]leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, teachers. ¹⁷ And I sent them to Iddo the ^[b]leading man at the place called Casiphia; and I ^[c]told them what to say to ^[d]Iddo and his brothers, ^(C)the temple servants at the place Casiphia, that is, to bring ministers to us for the house of our God. ^18 (D)And as the good hand of our God was upon us, they brought us a ^(E)man of insight from the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, and his sons and brothers, eighteen men; ¹⁹ and Hashabiah and ^[e]Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty men; ²⁰ and 220 of ^(F)the temple servants, whom David and the officials had provided for the service of the Levites, all of them designated by name.

Protection of God Invoked

²¹ Then I proclaimed ^(G)a fast there at ^(H)the river of Ahava, to ^(I)humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a ^[f]safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. ²² For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to ^[g]protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “^(J)The hand of our God is ^[h]favorably disposed to all who seek Him, but ^(K)His power and His anger are against all those who ^(L)abandon Him.” ²³ So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He ^[i](M)listened to our pleading.

²⁴ Then I selected twelve of the leading priests: ^(N)Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers; ²⁵ and I ^(O)weighed out to them ^(P)the silver, the gold, and the utensils, the offering for the house of our God which the king, ^(Q)his counselors, his officials, and all Israel who were present there had contributed. ^26 (R)So I weighed into their hands ^[j]650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth ^[k]a hundred talents, and a hundred gold talents, ²⁷ and twenty gold bowls worth a thousand ^[l]darics, and two utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold. ²⁸ Then I said to them, “^(S)You are holy to the Lord, and the ^(T)utensils are holy; and the silver and the gold are a ^[m]voluntary offering to the Lord God of your fathers. ²⁹ Watch and keep them ^(U)until you weigh them before the leading priests, the Levites, and the leaders of the fathers’ households of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.” ³⁰ So the priests and the Levites ^(V)accepted the weight of silver and gold and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

³¹ Then we journeyed from ^(W)the river Ahava on ^(X)the twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and ^(Y)the hand of our God was upon us, and He rescued us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the road. ^32 (Z)So we came to Jerusalem and remained there for three days.

Treasure Placed in the Temple

³³ And on the fourth day the silver, the gold, and the utensils ^(AA)were weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of ^(AB)Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui. ³⁴ A notation was made for everything by number and weight, and all the weight was recorded at that time.

^35 (AC)The exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: ^(AD)twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, twelve male goats for a sin offering, all as a burnt offering to the Lord. ³⁶ Then ^(AE)they delivered the king’s edicts to ^(AF)the king’s satraps and the governors in the provinces beyond the Euphrates River, and they supported the people and the house of God.

One Sacrifice of Christ Is Sufficient

10 For the Law, since it has only ^(A)a shadow of ^(B)the good things to come and not the ^[a]form of those things itself, ^[b]can ^(C)never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually every year, ^(D)make those who approach perfect. ² Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had ^(E)consciousness of sins? ³ But ^(F)in ^[c]those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. ⁴ For it is ^(G)impossible for the ^(H)blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. ⁵ Therefore, ^(I)when He comes into the world, He says,

⁸ After saying above, “^(O)Sacrifices and offerings and ^(P)whole burnt offerings and offerings ^(Q)for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law), ⁹ then He ^[d]said, “^(R)Behold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. ¹⁰ By ^[e]this will, we have been ^(S)sanctified through ^(T)the offering of ^(U)the body of Jesus Christ ^(V)once for all time.

¹¹ Every priest stands daily ministering and ^(W)offering time after time the same sacrifices, which ^(X)can never take away sins; ¹² but He, having offered one sacrifice ^(Y)for ^[f]sins ^(Z)for all time, ^(AA)sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ waiting from that time onward ^(AB)until His enemies are made a footstool for His feet. ¹⁴ For by one offering He has ^(AC)perfected ^(AD)for all time those who are ^[g]sanctified. ¹⁵ And ^(AE)the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,

He then says,

¹⁸ Now where there is forgiveness of these things, an offering for sin is no longer required.