Ezra

Ezra 7:13–27

¹³I hereby decree that any volunteers among the Israelites in my kingdom, including the priests and Levites, may go up with you to Jerusalem. ¹⁴You are sent by the king and his seven counselors to evaluate Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand.

¹⁵Moreover, you are to take with you the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, ¹⁶together with all the silver and gold you may find in all the province of Babylon, as well as the freewill offerings of the people and priests to the house of their God in Jerusalem. ¹⁷With this money, therefore, you are to buy as many bulls, rams, and lambs as needed, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and offer them on the altar at the house of your God in Jerusalem. ¹⁸You and your brothers may do whatever seems best with the rest of the silver and gold, according to the will of your God.

¹⁹You must deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles given to you for the service of the house of your God. ²⁰And if anything else is needed for the house of your God that you may have occasion to supply, you may pay for it from the royal treasury.

²¹I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers west of the Euphrates:^e Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it must be provided promptly, ²²up to a hundred talents of silver,^f a hundred cors of wheat,^g a hundred baths of wine,^h a hundred baths of olive oil,ⁱ and salt without limit. ²³Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven must be done diligently for His house. For why should wrath fall on the realm of the king and his sons? ²⁴And be advised that you have no authority to impose tribute, duty, or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

²⁵And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God, which you possess, are to appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people west of the Euphrates — all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach these laws to anyone who does not know them. ²⁶If anyone does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let a strict judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.

²⁷Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put into the heart of the king to so honor the house of the LORD in Jerusalem,

Footnotes

e 7:21 Aramaic beyond the River; also in verse 25
f 7:22 100 talents is approximately 3.77 tons or 3.42 metric tons of silver.
g 7:22 100 cors is approximately 624 bushels or 22,000 liters (probably about 19.2 tons or 17.4 metric tons of wheat).
h 7:22 100 baths is approximately 580 gallons or 2,200 liters of wine.
i 7:22 Or 100 baths of oil; that is, approximately 580 gallons or 2,200 liters