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Ezra 7:11-26
New American Standard Bible

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 the Lord 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, [c]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 are willing to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. 14 Since you are sent [d]on the part of the king and his (C)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, (D)whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 with (E)all the silver and gold which you find in the entire province of Babylon, along (F)with the [e]voluntary 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 diligently buy bulls, rams, and lambs, (H)with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and (I)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, (J)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, (K)the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it shall be done diligently, 22 up to [f]a hundred talents of silver, [g]a hundred kors of wheat, [h]a hundred baths of wine, [i]a hundred baths of anointing oil, and salt [j]as needed. 23 Whatever is [k]commanded by the God of heaven, it shall 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 inform you that (M)it is not allowed to impose tax, tribute, 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 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 (P)teach anyone who is ignorant of them. 26 And (Q)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 [l]confiscation of property or for imprisonment.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 7:11 Or the scribe of
  2. Ezra 7:12 Ch 7:12-26 is in Aram
  3. Ezra 7:12 Or perhaps it is determined
  4. Ezra 7:14 Lit from before
  5. Ezra 7:16 Or freewill offering
  6. Ezra 7:22 About 3.75 tons or 3.4 metric tons
  7. Ezra 7:22 About 770 cubic feet or 22 cubic meters
  8. Ezra 7:22 About 600 gallons or 2,271 liters
  9. Ezra 7:22 About 600 gallons or 2,271 liters
  10. Ezra 7:22 Lit without instruction
  11. Ezra 7:23 Lit from the command of
  12. Ezra 7:26 Or fines
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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.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 7:11 tn Heb “this.”
  2. Ezra 7:11 tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.” So also in v. 21.
  3. Ezra 7:11 tn The words “Ezra was” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
  4. Ezra 7:12 sn Ezra 7:12-26 is written in Aramaic rather than Hebrew.
  5. 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.”
  6. Ezra 7:13 tn Heb “from me is placed a decree.” So also in v. 21.
  7. Ezra 7:14 tn Aram “sent.”
  8. Ezra 7:14 tn Aram “in your hand.”
  9. Ezra 7:16 tn Aram “find.”
  10. Ezra 7:17 tn Aram “their meal offerings and their libations.”
  11. Ezra 7:18 tn Aram “brothers.”
  12. Ezra 7:19 tn Or “before.”
  13. Ezra 7:20 tn Aram “may fall to you to give.”
  14. Ezra 7:21 tn Aram “who are in.”
  15. Ezra 7:22 tc The translation reads מְשַׁח בַּתִּין (meshakh battin) rather than מְשַׁח בַּתִּין (battin meshakh) of the MT.
  16. Ezra 7:22 tn Aram “he did not write.”
  17. 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.
  18. Ezra 7:24 tn Aram “we are making known to you.”
  19. Ezra 7:25 tn Aram “in your hand.”
  20. Ezra 7:25 tc For the MT reading שָׁפְטִין (shoftim, “judges”) the LXX uses the noun γραμματεῖς (grammateis, “scribes”).
  21. 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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