Ezra 7-8
Scripture Thought (What I Learned):
Chapter 7: Artaxerxes Beautifies the Temple
In
the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra…
Who was the son of Seraiah, the son
of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son
of Ahitub, the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, the son
of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, the son of Abishua, the son of
Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest;
…Ezra
came up from Babylon; he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses,
which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him his
entire request, according to the hand of the Lord his God.
Some of
the children of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers,
and the Nethinim came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.
And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the
seventh year of the king. On the first day of the first month he
began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the
fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon
him. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to
do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.
This is a
copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the scribe,
expert in the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of His statutes
to Israel:
“Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law
of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time. I make a
decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and
Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to
Jerusalem, go with thee. Forasmuch as thou art sent of the king, and of his
seven counsellors, to enquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the
law of thy God which is in thine hand; And to carry the silver and
gold, which the king and his counsellors have freely offered unto the God of
Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem, And all the silver and gold
that thou canst find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering
of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their
God which is in Jerusalem: That thou mayest buy speedily with this
money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meat offerings and their drink
offerings, and offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in
Jerusalem. And whatsoever shall seem good to thee, and to thy brethren, to do
with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do after the will of
your God. The vessels also that are given thee for the service of the house of
thy God, those deliver thou before the God of Jerusalem. And
whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt
have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king’s treasure house. And
I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers
which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the
scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done
speedily, (Ezra 7:12-21)
Now
therefore, be careful to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, with their
grain offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them on the altar of the
house of your God in Jerusalem. And whatever seems good to you and your
brethren to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do it according to the
will of your God. Also the articles that are given to you for the service of
the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem. And
whatever more may be needed for the house of your God, which you may have
occasion to provide, pay for it from the king's treasury. And
I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers
who are in the region beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the
priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, let it
be done diligently, up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred kors of
wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without
prescribed limit.
Whatever
is commanded by the God of heaven, let it diligently be done for the house of
the God of heaven. For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king
and his sons?
Also
we inform you that it shall not be lawful to impose tax, tribute, or
custom on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers,
Nethinim, or servants of this house of God. And you, Ezra, according to your
God-given wisdom, set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are
in the region beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God; and
teach those who do not know them. Whoever will not observe the law of
your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily on him,
whether it be death, or banishment, or confiscation of goods, or
imprisonment.
Blessed be the ord God
of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king's heart,
to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem,
and has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all
the king's mighty princes. So I was encouraged, as the hand of the Lord my
God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with
me.
Chapter 8:
Ezra and the People Fast and Pray for Guidance
These are the heads of
their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of those
who went up with Ezra from Babylon, in the reign of King Artaxerxes…
…of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom;
of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush; of the sons of
Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and registered with
him wereone hundred and fifty males; of the sons of Pahath-Moab,
Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males; of the sons of
Shechaniah, Ben-Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males; of the sons of
Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males; of the sons of Elam,
Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males; of the sons of
Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males; of the sons
of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen
males; of the sons of Shelomith, Ben-Josiphiah, and with him one hundred and
sixty males; of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him
twenty-eight males; of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with
him one hundred and ten males; of the last sons of Adonikam, whose
names arethese; Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah; and with them sixty males;
also of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.
He
gathered them by the river that flows to Ahava, and they camped there three
days. And Ezra looked among the people and the priests, and found none of the
sons of Levi there.
Ezra
sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan,
Zechariah, and Meshullam, leaders; also for Joiarib and Elnathan, men of
understanding. And he gave them a command, Iddo the chief man at the place
Casiphia, and he told them what they should say to Iddo and his
brethren the Nethinim at the place Casiphia; that they should bring the
servants for the house of our God. Then, by the good hand of our God upon them,
they brought them a man of understanding…
…of the sons of Mahli the son of
Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and brothers, eighteen
men; and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers
and their sons, twenty men; also of the Nethinim, whom David and the leaders
had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim.
All of them were designated by name.
Ezra proclaimed a fast there at the
river of Ahava, that they might humble themselves before God, to seek from Him
the right way for them and their little ones and all their possessions. For he
was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help them
against the enemy on the road, because they had spoken to the king, saying,
“The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His
power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.” So they
fasted and entreated their God for this,
and He answered their prayer.
He separated twelve of the leaders
of the priests; Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them; and
weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the articles, the offering for
the house of our God which the king and his counselors and his princes, and all
Israel who were present, had offered. He weighed into their hand six
hundred and fifty talents of silver, silver articles weighing one
hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold, twenty gold
basins worth a thousand drachmas, and two vessels of fine polished
bronze, precious as gold. And he said to them, “You are holy to
the Lord; the articles are holy also; and the silver and the
gold are a freewill offering to the Lord God of your fathers.
Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leaders
of the priests and the Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses of
Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.”
So the priests and the Levites received the silver and the gold and the
articles by weight, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our
God.
They
departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first
month, to go to Jerusalem. And the hand of their God was upon them, and He
delivered them from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the road. So they
came to Jerusalem, and stayed there three days.
On
the fourth day the silver and the gold and the articles were weighed in the
house of their God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and
with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; with them were the
Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui, with the
number and weight of everything. All the weight was written down at
that time.
And
they delivered the king’s orders to the king’s satraps and the
governors in the region beyond the River. So they gave support to the
people and the house of God.
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