^aNow after these things, in the reign of ^bArtaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra went up to Jerusalem; Ezra was the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest. 6 So this Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a ^ascribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all ¹he requested ^bbecause the hand of the LORD his God was upon him. 7 ^aSome of the sons of Israel and some of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

8 And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, ^abecause the good hand of his God was upon him. 10 For Ezra had ¹firmly resolved to study the Law of the LORD and to practice it, and ^ato teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.

11 Now this is the copy of the letter which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, ¹learned in the words of the commandments of the LORD and His statutes to Israel: 12 “¹Artaxerxes, ^aking of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, ²perfect peace. And now 13 ^aI have issued a decree that any of the people of Israel and their priests and the Levites in my kingdom who are willing to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. 14 Since you are sent ¹on the part of the king and his ^aseven advisers to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God which is in your hand, 15 and to bring the silver and gold, which the king and his advisers have voluntarily given to the God of Israel, ^awhose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 with ^aall the silver and gold which you find in the entire province of Babylon, along ^bwith the ¹voluntary offering of the people and of the priests, who ^coffered willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem; 17 with this money, therefore, you shall diligently buy bulls, rams, and lambs, ^awith their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and ^boffer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. 18 And whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do according to the will of your God. 19 Also the utensils which are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem. 20 And the rest of the needs of the house of your God, for which it may be incumbent upon you to provide, ^aprovide for them from the royal treasury.

21 “I myself, King Artaxerxes, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the provinces beyond the Euphrates River, that whatever Ezra the priest, ^athe scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it shall be done diligently, 22 up to ¹a hundred talents of silver, ²a hundred kors of wheat, ³a hundred baths of wine, ⁴a hundred baths of anointing oil, and salt ⁵as needed. 23 Whatever is ¹commanded by the God of heaven, it shall be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven, ^aso that there will not be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons. 24 We also inform you that ^ait is not allowed to impose tax, tribute, or toll ^bon any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

25 “And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God which is in your hand, ^aappoint magistrates and judges so that they may judge all the people who are in the province beyond the Euphrates River, that is, all those who know the laws of your God; and you may ^bteach anyone who is ignorant of them. 26 And ^awhoever does not comply with the Law of your God and the law of the king, judgment is to be executed upon him strictly, whether for death or for banishment, or for ¹confiscation of property or for imprisonment.”

27 Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, ^awho has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to glorify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem, 28 and ^ahas extended favor to me before the king and his counselors and before all the king’s mighty officials. So I was strengthened according to ^bthe hand of the LORD my God that was upon me, and I gathered ¹leading men from Israel to go up with me.

^aNow after this, in the reign of ^bArtaxerxes I son of Ahasuerus (Xerxes) king of Persia, Ezra the son (descendant) 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 went up from Babylon. He was a ^ascribe skilled in the Law (the five books) of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given; and the king granted him everything that he asked, ^bfor the hand of the LORD his God was on him. 7 ^aSome of the sons of Israel, with some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants also went up from Babylon to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

8 Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. 9 For on the first of the first month he started out from Babylon, and on the first of the fifth month he arrived in Jerusalem, ^abecause the good hand of his God was on him. 10 For Ezra had set his heart (resolved) to study and interpret the Law of the LORD, and to practice it and ^ateach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.

11 Now this is a copy of the decree that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe who was learned in the words of the commandments of the LORD and of His statutes to Israel: 12 “Artaxerxes, ^aking of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, perfect peace (greetings) . And now 13 ^aI have issued a decree that all of the people of Israel and their priests and the Levites in my kingdom who are willing to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. 14 For you are sent by the king and his ^aseven advisers to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem in accordance with the Law of your God, which is in your hand, 15 and to bring with you the silver and gold which the king and his advisers have freely offered to the God of Israel, ^awhose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 and ^aall the silver and gold which you find in the whole province of Babylon, along ^bwith the freewill offering of the people and of the priests for the house of their God in Jerusalem. 17 Therefore with this money, you shall diligently buy bulls, rams, and lambs, ^awith their grain offerings and drink offerings, and ^boffer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. 18 And whatever seems good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, you may do in accordance with the will of your God. 19 As for the utensils which are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver those in full before the God of Jerusalem. 20 The rest of the things required for the house of your God, which you may have occasion to provide, ^aprovide it from the royal treasury.

21 “And I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers in the provinces ¹west of the Euphrates River, that whatever Ezra the priest, ^athe scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it shall be done diligently and at once— 22 even up to 100 talents of silver, 100 kors (measures) of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of olive oil, and salt as needed. 23 Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done diligently and with enthusiasm for the house of the God of heaven, ^aso that there will not be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons. 24 We also inform you that ^ait is not authorized to impose tax, tribute, or toll ^bon any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants or other servants of this house of God.

25 “You, Ezra, are to ^aappoint magistrates and judges in accordance with the wisdom and instruction of your God which is in your hand, so that they may judge all the people who are in the province west of the Euphrates River; appoint those who know the laws of your God; and you may ^bteach anyone who does not know them. 26 ^aWhoever does not observe and practice the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him strictly and promptly, whether it be for death or banishment or confiscation of property or imprisonment.”

27 Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers said Ezra, ^awho put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to adorn and glorify the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, 28 and ^ahas extended His mercy and lovingkindness to me before the king, his advisers, and all the king’s mighty officials. I was strengthened and encouraged, for ^bthe hand of the LORD my God was upon me, and I gathered together outstanding men of Israel to go up with me to Jerusalem.

^aNow after these things, in the reign of ^bArtaxerxes king of Persia, there went up Ezra son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest. 6 This Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a ^ascribe skilled in the law of Moses, which Yahweh, the God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all ¹he requested ^bbecause the hand of Yahweh his God was upon him. 7 ^aAnd some of the sons of Israel and some of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

8 He came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 For on the first of the first month ¹he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, ^abecause the good hand of his God was upon him. 10 For Ezra had set his heart to ¹study the law of Yahweh and to practice it, and ^ato teach His statute and judgment in Israel.

11 Now this is the copy of the letter which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, ¹learned in the words of the commandments of Yahweh and His statutes to Israel:

27 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of our fathers, ^awho has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of Yahweh which is in Jerusalem, 28 and ^ahas extended lovingkindness to me before the king and his counselors and before all the king’s mighty princes. Thus I was strengthened according to ^bthe hand of Yahweh my God upon me, and I gathered ¹chief men from Israel to go up with me.

^aNow after these things, in the reign of ^bArtaxerxes king of Persia, there went up Ezra son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest. 6 This Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a ^ascribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all ¹he requested ^bbecause the hand of the LORD his God was upon him. 7 ^aSome of the sons of Israel and some of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

8 He came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 For on the first of the first month ¹he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, ^abecause the good hand of his God was upon him. 10 For Ezra had set his heart to ¹study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and ^ato teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.

11 Now this is the copy of the decree which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, ¹learned in the words of the commandments of the LORD and His statutes to Israel: 12 “¹Artaxerxes, ^aking of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace. And now 13 ^aI have issued a decree that any of the people of Israel and their priests and the Levites in my kingdom who are willing to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. 14 Forasmuch as you are sent ¹by the king and his ^aseven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God which is in your hand, 15 and to bring the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, ^awhose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 with ^aall the silver and gold which you find in the whole province of Babylon, along ^bwith the freewill offering of the people and of the priests, who ^coffered willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem; 17 with this money, therefore, you shall diligently buy bulls, rams and lambs, ^awith their grain offerings and their drink offerings and ^boffer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. 18 Whatever seems good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do according to the will of your God. 19 Also the utensils which are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem. 20 The rest of the needs for the house of your God, for which you may have occasion to provide, ^aprovide for it from the royal treasury.

21 “I, even I, King Artaxerxes, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the provinces beyond the ¹River, that whatever Ezra the priest, ^athe scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it shall be done diligently, 22 even up to 100 talents of silver, 100 ¹kors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt ²as needed. 23 Whatever is ¹commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven, ^aso that there will not be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons. 24 We also inform you that ^ait is not allowed to ¹impose tax, tribute or toll ^bon any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, Nethinim or servants of this house of God.

25 “You, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God which is in your hand, ^aappoint magistrates and judges that they may judge all the people who are in the province beyond the River, even all those who know the laws of your God; and you may ^bteach anyone who is ignorant of them. 26 ^aWhoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him strictly, whether for death or for ¹banishment or for confiscation of goods or for imprisonment.”

27 Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, ^awho has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to adorn the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem, 28 and ^ahas extended lovingkindness to me before the king and his counselors and before all the king’s mighty princes. Thus I was strengthened according to ^bthe hand of the LORD my God upon me, and I gathered ¹leading men from Israel to go up with me.