Ezra 7:14

Ezra 7:14

12 Artaxerxes, ^aking of kings,
To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven:
Perfect peace, ^band so forth.

13 I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you.

14 And whereas you are being sent¹ by the king and his ^aseven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, with regard to the Law of your God which is in your hand;

15 and whereas you are to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, ^awhose dwelling is in Jerusalem;

16 ^aand whereas all the silver and gold that you may find in all the province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and the priests, are to be ^bfreely offered for the house of their God in Jerusalem—

17 now therefore, be careful to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, with their ^agrain offerings and their drink offerings, and ^boffer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem.

18 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.

Commentaries:

Barnes' Notes

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Ezra 7:15 >>

Seven counselors - Herodotus relates that there were seven families pre-eminent in Persia, those of the seven conspirators against the Pseudo-Smerdis (Ezra 4:7 note); and it is reasonable to suppose that the heads of these families formed the special council of the king; the "Achaemenidae," or royal family, being represented by the head of the branch next in succession to that of the reigning monarch (see the marginal reference).

**Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Ezra 7:14:**

Ezra 6:19
Daniel 9:25

<< Ezra 7:13

Ezra 7:15 >>

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