Ezra 7:12–20

¹²“Artaxerxes, king of kings, to the priest Ezra, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven: Peace.ⁱ And now^{* 13}I decree that any 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 and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God, which is in your hand,^{* 15}and also to convey the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem,^{* 16}with all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia and with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, given willingly for the house of their God in Jerusalem.^{* 17}With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs and their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem.^{* 18}Whatever seems good to you and your colleagues to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God. ¹⁹The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem. ²⁰And whatever else is required for the house of your God that you are responsible for providing, you may provide out of the king’s treasury.^*