Ezra Arrives in Jerusalem 1 UST Many years later, during the time when Artaxerxes was the king of Persia,{ there was a man named} Ezra{. He} was a descendant of Seraiah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Hilkiah. BSB BSB: Many years later, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,
2 UST Hilkiah was the son of Shallum, who was the son of Zadok, who was a descendant of Ahitub, BSB BSB: the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,
3 UST who was a descendant of Amariah, who was the son of Azariah, who was a descendant of Meraioth, BSB BSB: the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,
4 UST who was the son of Zerahiah, who was the son of Uzzi, who was the son of Bukki, BSB BSB: the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,
5 UST who was the son of Abishua, who was the son of Phinehas, who was the son of Eleazar, who was the son of Aaron, the{ first} Supreme Priest. BSB BSB: the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest—
6 UST This man Ezra knew the laws of Moses very well. Those were the laws that Yahweh had given to the people who worship him, the Israelite people.{ Ezra asked the king for many things and} the king gave Ezra everything that he asked for because Yahweh, the God whom Ezra worshiped, caused all of it to go well for him. Then Ezra traveled from Babylon{ to Jerusalem}. BSB BSB: this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted Ezra all his requests, for the hand of the LORD his God was upon him.
7 UST Many Israelite people came with Ezra to Jerusalem, including some priests, some Levites, some musicians, some gatekeepers, and some{ of the descendants of} men who worked in the temple. That was during the seventh year that Artaxerxes was the king of Persia. BSB BSB: So in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, he went up to Jerusalem with some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants.
8 UST Ezra{ and the group with him} arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year that Artaxerxes was king. BSB BSB: Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king.
9 UST Consider this: They started out from Babylon on the first day of the first month. They arrived safely in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month of that year. God certainly acted very kindly toward them. BSB BSB: He had begun the 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 upon him.
10 UST { God made Ezra’ s journey successful} because Ezra had devoted himself to studying the laws of Yahweh and understanding how to obey them. He had also devoted himself to teach everything in those laws to the Israelite people. BSB BSB: For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, to practice it, and to teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.
Artaxerxes’ Letter for Ezra 12 UST “This letter is from Artaxerxes, the greatest of the kings. I am giving it to Ezra the priest, who has carefully studied the law that the God who is in heaven gave{ to the Israelite people}. Greetings. This is what I want you to know: BSB BSB: Artaxerxes, king of kings. To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Greetings.
13 UST I am commanding that any of the Israelite people in my kingdom may go with you to Jerusalem if they want to go. That includes priests and Levites. BSB BSB: I hereby decree that any volunteers among the Israelites in my kingdom, including the priests and Levites, may go up with you to Jerusalem.
14 UST I, the king, and my seven advisors are sending you to investigate whether the people of Judah and Jerusalem are following the law of your God that you carry. BSB BSB: You 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.
15 UST We are also telling you to take with you the silver and gold that I and my advisors will give to you. We give it freely to the God of Israel who has a temple in Jerusalem. BSB BSB: Moreover, 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,
16 UST You should also take any silver and gold that{ the people in} the entire province of Babylonia may give to you. Add that to the money that the Israelite people and the priests freely give for you to use at the temple of their God in Jerusalem. BSB BSB: together 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.
17 UST Then carefully use this money to buy the bulls, rams, and lambs that the priests will burn on the altar of the temple of your God in Jerusalem. Also buy the grain and wine that go with these offerings. BSB BSB: With 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.
18 UST If there is any silver or gold left over{ after you buy all of those things}, you and your companions may use it to buy whatever you think that your God wants you to buy. BSB BSB: You and your brothers may do whatever seems best with the rest of the silver and gold, according to the will of your God.
19 UST We have also given to you some{ valuable} containers for the priests to use in the temple of your God. Take all of them to your God in Jerusalem. BSB BSB: You must deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles given to you for the service of the house of your God.
20 UST If you need to supply any other things for the temple of your God, I permit you to get the money{ to pay for those things} from the royal treasury. BSB BSB: And 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.
21 UST And I, King Artaxerxes, personally command this to all the treasurers in the province west of the Euphrates River: Ezra is a priest who has carefully studied the laws of the God who is in heaven. If there is anything that he requests, give it to him quickly. BSB BSB: I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers west of the Euphrates: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it must be provided promptly,
22 UST Give him up to three and one- third metric tons of silver, up to 500 bushels of wheat, up to two and one- fifth kiloliters of wine, up to the same amount of olive oil, and all the salt that he requests. BSB BSB: up to a hundred talents of silver, a hundred cors of wheat, a hundred baths of wine, a hundred baths of olive oil, and salt without limit.
23 UST Be sure that you provide everything that the God who is in heaven requires for his temple. We certainly do not want this God to be angry with me or with my descendants{, who will later be kings, because I did not provide what he required}. BSB BSB: Whatever 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?
24 UST By means of this letter, I also prohibit you from collecting tax payments of any kind from any of the priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers, or any men who work in the temple. They are exempt from taxes{ because} they serve in the temple of this God. BSB BSB: And 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.
25 UST Now I will address you, Ezra. The God whom you worship has made you wise. Therefore, I want you to appoint men who can settle disputes between people and interpret God’ s laws for all{ of the Jews} in the province west of the Euphrates River. They must do this for all of those who know the laws of this God, and all of you must teach God’ s laws to those who do not know them. BSB BSB: And 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.
26 UST { You and the men whom you appoint} must make sure to severely punish everyone who does not obey my law or the law of the God whom you worship. You may decide whether to execute them or to send them out of the country or to take away all of their property or to put them in prison.” BSB BSB: If 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.
Ezra Blesses God 27 UST { When I, Ezra, read this letter, I said,}“Praise Yahweh, the God whom our ancestors worshiped! He has caused the king to want to honor his temple in Jerusalem. BSB BSB: Blessed 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,
28 UST God also acted very kindly to me by causing the king and his advisors and all of his powerful officials to want to help me. When I saw how Yahweh, the God whom I worship, was making all of my plans succeed, I boldly asked some of the Israelite leaders to go{ to Jerusalem} with me.” BSB BSB: and who has shown me favor before the king, his counselors, and all his powerful officials. And because the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, I took courage and gathered the leaders of Israel to return with me.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.