Ezra 7:1–15

Ezra Sent to Teach the People

7Now after this, ^vin the reign of ^vArtaxerxes king of Persia, ^wEzra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, ²son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, ³son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, ⁴son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, ⁵son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest— ⁶this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe ^xskilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, ^yfor the hand of the Lord his God was on him.

⁷And there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel, and ^zsome of the priests and ^aLevites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple ^bservants. ⁸And Ezra¹ came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. ⁹For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, ^cfor the good hand of his God was on him. ¹⁰For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it ^dand to ^eteach his statutes and rules in Israel.

¹¹This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes for Israel:^{2 12}“Artaxerxes, ^fking of kings, to Ezra the priest, the ^gscribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Peace.^{3 h}And now ¹³ⁱI make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. ¹⁴For you are sent by the king ^jand his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand, ¹⁵and also to carry the silver and gold that the king ^jand his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, ^kwhose dwelling is in Jerusalem,