27 (A)Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, (B)who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, 28 (C)and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.

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Ezra’s Response to the Letter

27 Blessed be the Lord God of our ancestors,
    who placed this decree[a] into the king’s heart
        to beautify the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem
28 and who showed gracious love to me before the king,
        before his advisors,
        and before all of the king’s mighty officials.

And I was strengthened because the hand of the Lord my God was upon me. So I gathered together the leaders of Israel to go with me.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 7:27 The Heb. lacks decree