Ezra
Ezra 7
Chapter VII · Vol. II, pp. 900–901
1 Ezra's pedigree from Aaron; he goeth up to Jerusalem. 11 The gracious commission of Artaxerxes to him. 27 Ezra blesseth God for this favour.
1 Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes1 king of Persia,2 Ezraa the son of bSeraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of cHilkiah,
B.C. 457.
1 Longhand.
2 An interval of about 58 years intervened between the close of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh chapter. Ezra now takes up the thread of the narrative at the time when he left Babylon with a second caravan of returning exiles. He was a priest, a lineal descendant of Aaron. To gain for himself his rightful influence, and his proper place, he gives his genealogy.—P.
a ver.6,10; ch.viii.-x.
b 2 Ki.25.18. 1 Ch.6.4-14,50-53.
c 2 Ch.34.9,15.
2 The son of Shallum, the son of dZadok, the son of Ahitub,
d 1 Ch.6.8-12. He was descended from the high-priests.
3 The son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,
4 The son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,
6 This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a fready scribe3 in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king ggranted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.
7 And there hwent up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, unto Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.
h ch.8.1-28. Zec.2.6,7.
8 And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.
9 For iupon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month4 came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.5
i Pr.3.6. Is.43.1,2; 41.10; 46.3,4. Ps.68.22. He.13.5,6. Ro.8.31.
4 If the time seem too long for the distance, let it be recollected the caravan under Ezra travelled with the aged and young of the families, and also with cattle.—C.
5 It is probable that the first date marks the time when Ezra began to make preparation for the departure of the exiles. The work of preparation would necessarily be tedious. Property acquired in Babylon would have to be disposed of; all matters of business must be arranged; goods and cattle intended for transport must be got ready. Even three or four months would be a limited period for all this work.—P.
10 For Ezra had kprepared6 his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and lto teach in Israel statutes and judgments.
11 Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel.
12 Artaxerxes, mking of kings, unto nEzra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time.
m Eze.26.7. Da.2.38. 2 Ki.18.19. Is.10.8.
n Or, To Ezra the priest, a perfect scribe of the law of the God of heaven, peace, &c. ch.4.7.
13 I make a decree, that oall they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own free will to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.
14 Forasmuch as thou art sent of the 7king, and of his pseven counsellors,8 to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of qthy God which is in thine hand;
7 Chald. from before the king.
p Es.1.14.
8 Seven Persian nobles discovered and conspired against the impostor Smerdis, and one of them was chosen king. Hence, it seems probable, seven became the ordinary number of the Persian privy-council. C.—Princes who enjoyed the chief offices in the state. From the time of Darius Hystaspes, who was chosen out of seven nobles to be king, the kings of Persia ever had seven counsellors privileged as these nobles were. The names of these persons are given Es.1.10.—I.
15 And to carry rthe silver and gold, which the king and his counsellors have freely 9offered unto the God of Israel, whose habitation sis in Jerusalem,
r ch.6.4,8-10. Ps.68.29. Is.60.6,9. Re.21.24,26.
9 They obviously entertained an exalted idea of the God of Israel, and earnestly desired his favour, although they did not worship him alone, but imagined that other gods had some power, though not so great as his.—I.
s 2 Ch.6.2,6; 29.6. ch.6.12.
16 Andt all the silver and gold that thou canst find in all the province of Babylon, with the free-will-offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem;
17 That uthou 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.
18 And xwhatsoever shall seem good to thee, and to thy brethren, to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do after the will1 of your God.
x 2 Ki.12.15; 22.7. 1 Co.4.1,2.
1 It is remarkable that a heathen prince should lay no other restriction on Ezra and his brethren, in disposing of the treasures which they collected, except that they should be employed 'after the will of their God.' The whole commission implies a chartered right to the Jews of living according to their own laws.—I.
19 The yvessels also that are given thee for the service of the house of thy God, those deliver thou before the God of Jerusalem.
y 2 Ch.32.19. Je.3.17. ch.8.27,30,33,34.
20 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.2
2 It is revealed (ch. 6. 22) that 'the Lord had turned the heart of the king, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God;' and here we find him endow the temple with the royal treasures necessary for the support of its priesthood and service.—C.
21 And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to zall 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,
z ch.5.3,6. Ne.2.7,8.
22 Unto an hundred talents of silver[≈ 3.4 tonnes · 3.4 tons · silver worth ≈ US$5.9 million],3 and to an hundred measures4 of wheat, and to an hundred baths[≈ 2,200 litres · 60 bushels] of wine, and to an hundred baths[≈ 2,200 litres · 60 bushels] of oil, and salt without prescribing how much.
A.M. 3547. B.C. 457.
3 £34,218, 15s. sterling.
4 Chald. cors.
23 Whatsoever is commanded5 by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for awhy should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?6
5 Heb. Whatsoever is of the decree.
a ch.6.10. Ps.68.29.
6 Here is an acknowledgment on the part of a heathen monarch of the great principle, that God is king of nations, and that he can justly claim national treasures for the support and promotion of his church. Ezra was empowered to draw from the public funds whatever might be required for the building of the temple and the re-establishment of the worship of God at Jerusalem. The great officers of the empire were commanded to afford Ezra every facility in his work, and to see that he was supplied with money. Ezra felt himself justified in accepting of and using the money. The concluding clause of ver.23 is especially deserving of note; it embodies a noble lesson, which kings and rulers in all ages and countries ought to learn—that the wrath of God is to be averted, and his blessing to be obtained, by a dedication to his glory of national treasures and power.—P.
24 Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this house of God, itb shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom, upon them.
b Ge.47.22. ch.11.23.
25 And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God that is in thine hand, set cmagistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and dteach ye them that know them not.
26 And ewhosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment,7 or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.8
e ch.6.11. Da.3.28,29; 6.26. Ro.13.1-6. 1 Pe.2.13,14.
7 Chald. to rooting out.
8 This extraordinary favour to the Jews has generally been accounted for, by supposing this Artaxerxes to be the Ahasuerus of Esther, and the favour to have originated from his attachment to his young and beautiful Jewish queen. But besides that this is mere unsupported conjecture, it seems a strange forgetfulness of ch. 6. 22; 7. 27, where the whole is attributed to the grace and Spirit of the Lord. Why must an earthly motive be sought out for a spiritual act of reverence for God and his worship? Surely 'the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water; he turneth it whithersoever he will,' Pr.21.1.—C.
27 Blessedf be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem;
f 1 Ch.29.10. Ja.1.17. Pr.21.1.
Notes
[Ver. 1. Seraiah, the son of Azariah. This Seraiah was that high-priest who was slain by Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah, 2 Ki. 25. 18, 21, about 130 years before, and therefore could not be literally the father of Ezra. But by a principle of Jewish law, frequently exemplified in the Scriptures, when the intermediate parties died childless, and the family property or offices descended by heirship to a collateral branch, or in virtue of the law of adoption, as exemplified Ge. 48. 5, 6, a grandson or still more distant relative might be counted not as the son of his immediate father, but of his more remote ancestor. Among the many practical advantages of this system, was the facility which it afforded in tracing ancestry, and settling hereditary claims, by diminishing the links of proof necessary for their establishment. C.]
Reflections.—God richly endows men with proper gifts and grace when he intends them for distinguished work in his church. And that character is highly exalted in which great knowledge and activity meet with great holiness of heart and life. Yea, very excellent is a knowledge of the Scriptures when it is reduced to practice and employed in the instruction of others. If God calls us to a difficult service he can make all things concur to our encouragement. If his people want magistrates of their own religion, he can make heathens to compensate the loss, doing honour to his word as the rule; showing at once generous hearts and open hands, and punishing contemptuous despisers of him and his interests. But how thankful ought we to be when he thus makes the princes of this world nursing parents to his church, terrors to evil-doers, and a praise to them that do well! Surely then it is becoming in us to depend on him alone as our strength and salvation, and to ascribe the glory of all that we are or do in his service to his own power and grace.
Measures in square brackets are modern equivalents added for this edition. They are not in the King James text or in Brown’s notes. They use common scholarly estimates: a cubit is about 45.7 cm (18 in), a shekel about 11.4 g (0.4 oz), an ephah about 22 litres. Money values give the worth of the silver or gold at spot prices on 28 October 2026, not what the sum would buy in the ancient world.