Ezra 7–10

Ezra’s Arrival and Work

7After these things during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra 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 skilled in the law of Moses, which Yahweh the God of Israel gave. The king granted him all his requests, for the hand of Yahweh was upon him.

⁷Some of the Israelites,^a some priests and Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. ⁸He 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 the journey from Babylonia; and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him. ¹⁰For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of Yahweh, to do it, and to teach the regulations and judgments in Israel.

Artaxerxes’ Letter to Ezra

¹¹This is the copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the scroll of the words of the commands of Yahweh and his statutes for Israel: ¹²“Artaxerxes, the king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of the heavens. Peace. And now ¹³I issue forth a decree that any of the people of Israel, their priests, or their Levites in my kingdom who are willing to go to Jerusalem may go with you. ¹⁴For you are sent from the king and his seven counselors to enquire about Judah and Jerusalem concerning the law of your God, which is in your hand. ¹⁵Also, bring the silver and gold that the king and his advisors have freely offered to the God of Israel whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, ¹⁶and all of the silver and gold that you will find in the whole province of Babylonia, with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests giving willingly for the house of their God in Jerusalem. ¹⁷With this money, then, with diligence you must buy young bulls, young rams, lambs, and their offerings and libations. You must offer them on the altar that is in the house of your God in Jerusalem. ¹⁸You may do whatever seems best to you and your brothers to do with the remainder of the silver and gold according to the desire of your God. ¹⁹And the vessels that were given to you for the service of the house of your God you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem. ²⁰And the remainder of the needs for the house of your God that falls to you to provide, you may provide from the house of the king’s treasury.”

²¹“I, even I, King Artaxerxes, issue forth a decree to all the treasurers who are in the province Beyond the River. Whatever the priest Ezra, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may ask of you, let it be done with diligence, ²²up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred measures of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and unlimited salt.^{b 23}All that is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with diligence for the house of the God of heaven, otherwise wrath will come on the kingdom of the king and his sons. ²⁴You also should be aware that it is not permitted to place tax, tribute, or duty upon all of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, and other servants of the house of God.

²⁵“You, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that you possess, appoint magistrates and judges who can judge all of the people in the province Beyond the River who know the laws of your God. And you will teach those who do not know. ²⁶All who do not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed on him with diligence, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of goods and for imprisonment.”

²⁷Blessed be Yahweh the God of our ancestors,^c who put this in the heart of the king to glorify the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem ²⁸and who extended to me loyal love before the king and his counselors, and before all of the mighty officials of the king. I took courage, for the hand of Yahweh my God was upon me, and I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.

Family Heads Who Returned With Ezra

8These were the heads of their families^a and the register of those returnees from Babylonia who came up with me in the reign of King Artaxerxes: ²From the descendants^b of Phinehas: Gershom. From the descendants^c of Ithamar: Daniel. From the descendants^d of David: Hattush. ³From the descendants^e of Shecaniah, from the descendants^f of Parosh: Zechariah and with him one hundred and fifty registered males. ⁴From the descendants^g of Pahath-Moab: Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah and with him two hundred males. ⁵From the descendants^h of Zattu:ⁱ Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males. ⁶From the descendants^j of Adin: Ebed son of Jehonathan, and with him fifty males. ⁷From the descendants^k of Elam: Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males. ⁸From the descendants^l of Shephatiah: Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him eighty males. ⁹From the descendants^m of Joab: Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males. ¹⁰From the descendantsⁿ of Bani:^o Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and with him one hundred and sixty males. ¹¹From the descendants^p of Bebai: Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males. ¹²From the descendants^q of Azgad: Jehohanan son of Haqqatan, and with him one hundred and ten males. ¹³From the descendants^r of Adonikam, those who came last, these were their names: Eliphelet, Jeiel, Shemaiah, and with them sixty males. ¹⁴From the descendants^s of Bigvai: Uthai son of Zabud,^t and with him seventy males.

Servants for the Temple are Gathered

¹⁵I gathered them by the river that goes to Ahava and we camped there for three days. And I looked at the people and the priests, I found no one there from the sons of Levi. ¹⁶And I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were family heads, and for Jehoiarib and Elnathan who were wise. ¹⁷I sent them to Iddo, the head of the place called Casiphia, and I placed in their mouths what words to say to Iddo and his brothers the temple servants in Casiphia, to send to us ministers for the house of our God. ¹⁸With the good hand of our God before us, they brought us a man of understanding from the sons of Mahli, son of Levi, son of Israel—Sherebiah and his sons and brothers, eighteen in total. ¹⁹Also Hashabiah and with him Jeshaiah, the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty in total. ²⁰And from the temple servants, whom David and his officials had set up to serve the Levites, two hundred and twenty in total. All of them were registered by name.

Ezra Proclaims a Fast

²¹I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava to humble ourselves before our God in order to seek from him a safe journey for us, our children, and our possessions. ²²For I was ashamed to ask the king for troops and horses to protect us from enemies on the way because we said to the king, “the hand of our God is favorable to all who seek him, but his strength and anger are against all who forsake them.” ²³So we fasted and sought our God for this and he responded to our prayer.

The Priests’ Gift for the Temple

²⁴I set apart twelve of the official priests: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers with them. ²⁵Then I weighed out to them silver and gold and the vessels, the offering of the house of our God that the king, his counselors, his commanders, and all of Israel who was present offered. ²⁶I weighed out into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, one hundred vessels of silver, one hundred talents of gold, ²⁷twenty gold bowls worth one thousand darics, and two vessels of good polished bronze as precious as gold. ²⁸And I said to them, “You are holy to Yahweh and the vessels are holy. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to Yahweh, God of your ancestors.^{u 29}Guard and look after them until you weigh them before the chief priests, the Levites, and the heads of the families^v of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chamber of the house of Yahweh.” ³⁰So the priests and Levites took over the weighed silver, gold, and the vessels to bring to Jerusalem for the house of our God.

Return to Jerusalem

³¹On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the river of Ahava to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushing on the way. ³²We came to Jerusalem and remained there three days. ³³On the fourth day, the silver, gold, and vessels were weighed in the house of our God into the hand of priest Meremoth, the son of Uriah, and with him Eleazar son of Phinehas. With them were the Levites, Jehozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. ³⁴The amount and weight of all the weighed items was recorded at that time.

³⁵The exiles that returned from captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel; twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve goats as a sin offering. All was a burnt offering to Yahweh. ³⁶They delivered the customs of the king to the king’s satraps and to the governor of the province Beyond the River. And they supported the people of the house of God.

Disdain Over Mixed Marriages

9After finishing these things the officials approached me saying, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated from the people of the lands with their detestable things, and from the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. ²For they have taken from their daughters for themselves and their sons. So the holy seed has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands, and the hand of the officials and prefects were foremost in this sin.” ³When I heard…