11 This
is a copy of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest, a teacher
of the Law, a man learned in matters concerning the commands and decrees of the
Lord for Israel:
12 Artaxerxes,
king of kings,
To
Ezra the priest, teacher of the Law of the God of heaven:
Greetings.
13 Now
I decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom, including priests and
Levites, who volunteer to go to Jerusalem with you, may go. 14 You
are sent by the king and his seven advisers to inquire about Judah and
Jerusalem with regard to the Law of your God, which is in your hand. 15 Moreover,
you are to take with you the silver and gold that the king and his advisers
have freely given to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 together
with all the silver and gold you may obtain from the province of Babylon, as
well as the freewill offerings of the people and priests for the temple of
their God in Jerusalem. 17 With this money be sure to buy
bulls, rams and male lambs, together with their grain offerings and drink
offerings, and sacrifice them on the altar of the temple of your God in
Jerusalem.
18 You
and your fellow Israelites may then do whatever seems best with the rest of the
silver and gold, in accordance with the will of your God. 19 Deliver
to the God of Jerusalem all the articles entrusted to you for worship in the
temple of your God. 20 And anything else needed for the temple
of your God that you are responsible to supply, you may provide from the royal
treasury.
21 Now
I, King Artaxerxes, decree that all the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates are to
provide with diligence whatever Ezra the priest, the teacher of the Law of the
God of heaven, may ask of you— 22 up to a hundred talents[a] of silver,
a hundred cors[b] of wheat, a
hundred baths[c] of wine, a
hundred baths[d] of olive
oil, and salt without limit. 23 Whatever the God of heaven has
prescribed, let it be done with diligence for the temple of the God of heaven.
Why should his wrath fall on the realm of the king and of his sons? 24 You
are also to know that you have no authority to impose taxes, tribute or duty on
any of the priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers, temple servants or other
workers at this house of God.
25 And
you, Ezra, in accordance with the wisdom of your God, which you possess,
appoint magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the people of
Trans-Euphrates—all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach any who
do not know them. 26 Whoever does not obey the law of your God
and the law of the king must surely be punished by death, banishment,
confiscation of property, or imprisonment.[e]
27 Praise
be to the Lord, the God of our
ancestors, who has put it into the king’s heart to bring honor to the house of
the Lord in Jerusalem in this way 28 and
who has extended his good favor to me before the king and his advisers and all
the king’s powerful officials. Because the hand of the Lord my God was on me, I took courage and gathered leaders
from Israel to go up with me.
After
these things, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of
Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, 2 the son of
Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, 3 the son of
Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, 4 the son of
Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, 5 the son of
Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief
priest— 6 this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well
versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord,
the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he asked, for
the hand of the Lord his God was
on him. 7 Some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites,
musicians, gatekeepers and temple servants, also came up to Jerusalem in the
seventh year of King Artaxerxes.
8 Ezra
arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. 9 He
had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he
arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand
of his God was on him. 10 For Ezra had devoted himself to the
study and observance of the Law of the Lord,
and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.
