Ezra 7:11-26
Legacy Standard Bible
The 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, [a]learned in the words of the commandments of Yahweh and His statutes to Israel:
12 “[b]Artaxerxes, (A)king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace. And now—
13 (B)I have issued a decree that any of the people of Israel and their priests and the Levites in my kingdom who freely offer to go to Jerusalem, may go with you.
14 Forasmuch as you are sent from before the king and his (C)seven counselors to inquire concerning 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 counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, (D)whose dwelling is in Jerusalem,
16 and (E)all the silver and gold which you find in the whole province of Babylon, along (F)with the freewill offering of the people and of the priests, who (G)offered willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem;
17 with this money, therefore, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, (H)with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and (I)bring them near to the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.
18 And whatever seems good to you and to 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 The rest of the needs for the house of your God, which may fall upon you to provide, (J)provide for it from the royal treasury.
21 “So I, even I, King Artaxerxes, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the provinces beyond the [c]River, that whatever Ezra the priest, (K)the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may ask of you, it shall be done with all diligence,
22 even up to [d]100 talents of silver, [e]100 kors of wheat, [f]100 baths of wine, [g]100 baths of oil, and salt without written order.
23 Whatever is [h]decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven, (L)so that there will not be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons.
24 We also make known to you that (M)it is not allowed to [i]impose tribute, custom, or toll (N)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, (O)appoint magistrates and judges that they may judge all the people who are in the province beyond the River, even all those who know the laws of your God; and to anyone who does not know the laws, you shall (P)make them known.
26 (Q)Whoever will not do the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be done to him with all diligence, whether for death or for [j]banishment or for confiscation of goods or for imprisonment.”
Notas al pie
- Ezra 7:11 Lit the scribe of
- Ezra 7:12 Ch 7:12-26 is in Aram
- Ezra 7:21 The Euphrates River, so in ch
- Ezra 7:22 Approx. 3.75 tons or 3.4 metric tons, a talent was approx. 75 lb. or 34 kg
- Ezra 7:22 Approx. 650 bu. or 23 metric tons, a kor was approx. 6.5 bu. or 230 l
- Ezra 7:22 Approx. 600 gal. or 2.3 metric tons, a bath was approx. 6 gal. or 23 l
- Ezra 7:22 Approx. 600 gal. or 2.3 metric tons, a bath was approx. 6 gal. or 23 l
- Ezra 7:23 Lit from the decree of
- Ezra 7:24 Lit throw on them
- Ezra 7:26 Lit rooting out
Ezra 7:11-26
New English Translation
Artaxerxes Gives Official Endorsement to Ezra’s Mission
11 What follows[a] is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priestly scribe.[b] Ezra was[c] a scribe in matters pertaining to the commandments of the Lord and his statutes over Israel:
12 [d] “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven:[e] 13 I have now issued a decree[f] that anyone in my kingdom from the people of Israel—even the priests and Levites—who wishes to do so may go up with you to Jerusalem. 14 You are authorized[g] by the king and his seven advisers to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your possession,[h] 15 and to bring silver and gold which the king and his advisers have freely contributed to the God of Israel, who resides in Jerusalem, 16 along with all the silver and gold that you may collect[i] throughout all the province of Babylon and the contributions of the people and the priests for the temple of their God which is in Jerusalem. 17 With this money you should be sure to purchase bulls, rams, and lambs, along with the appropriate[j] meal offerings and libations. You should bring them to the altar of the temple of your God which is in Jerusalem. 18 You may do whatever seems appropriate to you and your colleagues[k] with the rest of the silver and the gold, in keeping with the will of your God. 19 Deliver to[l] the God of Jerusalem the vessels that are given to you for the service of the temple of your God. 20 The rest of the needs for the temple of your God that you may have to supply,[m] you may do so from the royal treasury.
21 “I, King Artaxerxes, hereby issue orders to all the treasurers of[n] Trans-Euphrates, that you precisely execute all that Ezra the priestly scribe of the law of the God of heaven may request of you— 22 up to 100 talents of silver, 100 cors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of olive oil,[o] and unlimited[p] salt. 23 Everything that the God of heaven has required should be precisely done for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should there be wrath[q] against the empire of the king and his sons? 24 Furthermore, be aware of the fact[r] that you have no authority to impose tax, tribute, or toll on any of the priests, the Levites, the musicians, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or the attendants at the temple of this God.
25 “Now you, Ezra, in keeping with the wisdom of your God which you possess,[s] appoint judges[t] and court officials who can arbitrate cases on behalf of all the people who are in Trans-Euphrates who know the laws of your God. Those who do not know this law should be taught. 26 Everyone who does not observe both the law of your God and the law of the king will be completely[u] liable to the appropriate penalty, whether it is death or banishment or confiscation of property or detainment in prison.”
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- Ezra 7:11 tn Heb “this.”
- Ezra 7:11 tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.” So also in v. 21.
- Ezra 7:11 tn The words “Ezra was” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
- Ezra 7:12 sn Ezra 7:12-26 is written in Aramaic rather than Hebrew.
- 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.”
- Ezra 7:13 tn Heb “from me is placed a decree.” So also in v. 21.
- Ezra 7:14 tn Aram “sent.”
- Ezra 7:14 tn Aram “in your hand.”
- Ezra 7:16 tn Aram “find.”
- Ezra 7:17 tn Aram “their meal offerings and their libations.”
- Ezra 7:18 tn Aram “brothers.”
- Ezra 7:19 tn Or “before.”
- Ezra 7:20 tn Aram “may fall to you to give.”
- Ezra 7:21 tn Aram “who are in.”
- Ezra 7:22 tc The translation reads מְשַׁח בַּתִּין (meshakh battin) rather than מְשַׁח בַּתִּין (battin meshakh) of the MT.
- Ezra 7:22 tn Aram “he did not write.”
- Ezra 7:23 tn The Aramaic word used here for “wrath” (קְצַף, qetsaf; cf. Heb קָצַף, qatsaf) is usually used in the Hebrew Bible for God’s anger as opposed to human anger (but contra Eccl 5:17 [MT 5:16]; Esth 1:18; 2 Kgs 3:27). The fact that this word is used in v. 23 may have theological significance, pointing to the possibility of divine judgment if the responsible parties should fail to make available these provisions for the temple.
- Ezra 7:24 tn Aram “we are making known to you.”
- Ezra 7:25 tn Aram “in your hand.”
- Ezra 7:25 tc For the MT reading שָׁפְטִין (shoftim, “judges”) the LXX uses the noun γραμματεῖς (grammateis, “scribes”).
- Ezra 7:26 tn On the meaning of this word see HALOT 1820-21 s.v. אָסְפַּרְנָא; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 14.
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