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He was wiser than anyone else in the world, including the wisest people of the east and of Egypt. He was even wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Mahol's three sons, Heman, Calcol, and Darda. Solomon became famous in every country around Judah and Israel.
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Ezrah was the father of Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. Mered was married to Bithiah the daughter of the king of Egypt. They had a daughter named Miriam and two sons: Shammai and Ishbah. It was Ishbah who settled the town of Eshtemoa. Mered was also married to a woman from the tribe of Judah, and their sons were Jered, Heber, and Jekuthiel. Jered settled the town of Gedor; Heber settled the town of Soco; and Jekuthiel settled the town of Zanoah.
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Cyrus Lets the Jews Return Home
(Ezra 1.1-4)
In the first year that Cyrus was king of Persia, the Lord had Cyrus send a message to all parts of his kingdom. This happened just as Jeremiah the Lord's prophet had promised.
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Ezra Comes to Jerusalem
Much later, when Artaxerxes was king of Persia, Ezra came to Jerusalem from Babylonia. Ezra was the son of Seraiah and the grandson of Azariah. His other ancestors were Hilkiah, Shallum, Zadok, Ahitub, Amariah, Azariah, Meraioth, Zerahiah, Uzzi, Bukki, Abishua, Phinehas, Eleazar, and Aaron, the high priest. Ezra was an expert in the Law that the Lord God of Israel had given to Moses, and the Lord made sure that the king gave Ezra everything he asked for.
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Other Jews, including priests, Levites, musicians, the temple guards, and servants, came to Jerusalem with Ezra. This happened during the seventh year that Artaxerxes was king.
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God helped Ezra, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month of that seventh year, after leaving Babylonia on the first day of the first month.
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Ezra had spent his entire life studying and obeying the Law of the Lord and teaching it to others.
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Artaxerxes Gives a Letter to Ezra
Ezra was a priest and an expert in the laws and commands that the Lord had given to Israel. One day King Artaxerxes gave Ezra a letter which said:
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Greetings from the great King Artaxerxes to Ezra the priest and expert in the teachings of the God of heaven.
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Ezra, you are a priest and an expert in the laws of the God of heaven, and I order all treasurers in Western Province to do their very best to help you.
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Ezra, use the wisdom God has given you and choose officials and leaders to govern the people of Western Province. These leaders should know God's laws and have them taught to anyone who doesn't know them.
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Ezra Praises God
Because King Artaxerxes was so kind, Ezra said: Praise the Lord God of our ancestors! He made sure that the king honored the Lord's temple in Jerusalem.
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The Families Who Came Back with Ezra
Artaxerxes was king of Persia when I led the following chiefs of the family groups from Babylonia to Jerusalem:
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Ezra Finds Levites for the Temple
I brought everyone together by the river that flows to the town of Ahava where we camped for three days. Not one Levite could be found among the people and priests.
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Ezra Asks the People To Go without Eating and To Pray
Beside the Ahava River, I asked the people to go without eating and to pray. We humbled ourselves and asked God to bring us and our children safely to Jerusalem with all of our possessions.
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Ezra Condemns Mixed Marriages
Later the Jewish leaders came to me and said: Many Israelites, including priests and Levites, are living just like the people around them. They are even guilty of some of the horrible sins of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
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Ezra's Prayer
At the time of the evening sacrifice, I was still sitting there in sorrow with my clothes all torn. So I got down on my knees, then lifted my arms,
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The Plan for Ending Mixed Marriages
While Ezra was down on his knees in front of God's temple, praying with tears in his eyes and confessing the sins of the people of Israel, a large number of men, women, and children gathered around him and cried bitterly.
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Shecaniah son of Jehiel from the family of Elam said: Ezra, we have disobeyed God by marrying these foreign women. But there is still hope for the people of Israel,
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Ezra, it's up to you to do something! We will support whatever you do. So be brave!
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Ezra stood up and made the chief priests, the Levites, and everyone else in Israel swear that they would follow the advice of Shecaniah.
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Then Ezra left God's temple and went to spend the night in the living quarters of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. He felt sorry because of what the people had done, and he did not eat or drink a thing.
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Ezra the priest stood up and said: You have broken God's Law by marrying foreign women, and you have made the whole nation guilty!
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Everyone else who had returned from exile agreed with the plan. So Ezra the priest chose men who were heads of the families, and he listed their names. They started looking into the matter on the first day of the tenth month,
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A List of Exiles Who Returned
(Ezra 2.1-70)
Although Jerusalem covered a large area, not many people lived there, and no new houses had been built.
