²³ For there was a command from the king concerning them and a settled provision for the singers, as was required every day.^(A)

⁴⁷ In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers. They set apart that which was for the Levites, and the Levites set apart that which was for the descendants of Aaron.^(A)

²⁰ And whatever else is required for the house of your God that you are responsible for providing, you may provide out of the king’s treasury.^(A)

²¹ “I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever the priest Ezra, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence,^{(B) 22} up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred cors of wheat, one hundred baths^[a] of wine, one hundred baths^[b] of oil, and unlimited salt. ²³ Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven, or wrath will come upon the realm of the king and his heirs.^{(C) 24} We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll on any of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

⁸ Moreover, I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God: the cost is to be paid to these people, in full and without delay, from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province Beyond the River. ⁹ Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, as the priests in Jerusalem require—let that be given to them day by day without fail,

³³ Now these are the singers, the heads of ancestral houses of the Levites, living in the chambers of the temple free from other service, for they were on duty day and night.^(A)