| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | New Living Translation |
| 1[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 1Many years later, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, there was a man named Ezra. He was the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, |
| 2[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 2son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, |
| 3[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 3son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, |
| 4[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 4son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, |
| 5[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 5son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the high priest. |
| 6[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 6This Ezra was a scribe who was well versed in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given to the people of Israel. He came up to Jerusalem from Babylon, and the king gave him everything he asked for, because the gracious hand of the LORD his God was on him. |
| 7[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 7Some of the people of Israel, as well as some of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and Temple servants, traveled up to Jerusalem with him in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes’ reign. |
| 8[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 8Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in August of that year. |
| 9[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 9He had arranged to leave Babylon on April 8, the first day of the new year, and he arrived at Jerusalem on August 4, for the gracious hand of his God was on him. |
| 10[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 10This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the LORD and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel. Artaxerxes’ Letter to Ezra |
| 11[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 11King Artaxerxes had given a copy of the following letter to Ezra, the priest and scribe who studied and taught the commands and decrees of the LORD to Israel: |
| 12[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 12 “From Artaxerxes, the king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the teacher of the law of the God of heaven. Greetings. |
| 13[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 13“I decree that any of the people of Israel in my kingdom, including the priests and Levites, may volunteer to return to Jerusalem with you. |
| 14[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 14I and my council of seven hereby instruct you to conduct an inquiry into the situation in Judah and Jerusalem, based on your God’s law, which is in your hand. |
| 15[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 15We also commission you to take with you silver and gold, which we are freely presenting as an offering to the God of Israel who lives in Jerusalem. |
| 16[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 16“Furthermore, you are to take any silver and gold that you may obtain from the province of Babylon, as well as the voluntary offerings of the people and the priests that are presented for the Temple of their God in Jerusalem. |
| 17[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 17These donations are to be used specifically for the purchase of bulls, rams, male lambs, and the appropriate grain offerings and liquid offerings, all of which will be offered on the altar of the Temple of your God in Jerusalem. |
| 18[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 18Any silver and gold that is left over may be used in whatever way you and your colleagues feel is the will of your God. |
| 19[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 19“But as for the cups we are entrusting to you for the service of the Temple of your God, deliver them all to the God of Jerusalem. |
| 20[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 20If you need anything else for your God’s Temple or for any similar needs, you may take it from the royal treasury. |
| 21[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 21“I, Artaxerxes the king, hereby send this decree to all the treasurers in the province west of the Euphrates River : ‘You are to give Ezra, the priest and teacher of the law of the God of heaven, whatever he requests of you. |
| 22[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 22You are to give him up to 7,500 pounds of silver, 500 bushels of wheat, 550 gallons of wine, 550 gallons of olive oil, and an unlimited supply of salt. |
| 23[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 23Be careful to provide whatever the God of heaven demands for his Temple, for why should we risk bringing God’s anger against the realm of the king and his sons? |
| 24[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 24I also decree that no priest, Levite, singer, gatekeeper, Temple servant, or other worker in this Temple of God will be required to pay tribute, customs, or tolls of any kind.’ |
| 25[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 25“And you, Ezra, are to use the wisdom your God has given you to appoint magistrates and judges who know your God’s laws to govern all the people in the province west of the Euphrates River. Teach the law to anyone who does not know it. |
| 26[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 26Anyone who refuses to obey the law of your God and the law of the king will be punished immediately, either by death, banishment, confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.” Ezra Praises the LORD |
| 27[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 27Praise the LORD, the God of our ancestors, who made the king want to beautify the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem! |
| 28[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 28And praise him for demonstrating such unfailing love to me by honoring me before the king, his council, and all his mighty nobles! I felt encouraged because the gracious hand of the LORD my God was on me. And I gathered some of the leaders of Israel to return with me to Jerusalem. |
| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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