Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



It is my order that all the people of Israel, including their priests and Levites in my kingdom, who are ready and have a desire to go to Jerusalem, are to go with you. The king and his seven wise men send you to get knowledge about Judah and Jerusalem. The Law of your God orders you. You are to take with you the silver and gold freely offered by the king and his wise men to the God of Israel, who's Temple is in Jerusalem, read more.
As well as all the silver and gold which you get from the land of Babylon, together with the offering of the people and of the priests, freely given for the house of their God in Jerusalem. Use this money to buy bulls, sheep, and lambs, with their meal offerings and their drink offerings, to be offered on the altar of the house of your God, which is in Jerusalem. Whatever seems right to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, that do, as may be pleasing to your God. The vessels that have been given to you for the uses of the house of your God, you are to give to the God of Jerusalem. Whatever is needed for the house of your God, and which you may have to give, take it from the king's storehouse. And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, now give orders to all keepers of the king's money across the river, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may have need of from you, is to be done with all care, Up to a hundred talents of silver, a hundred measures of grain, a hundred measures of wine, and a hundred measures of oil, and salt without measure. Whatever the God of heaven orders let it be done completely for the house of the God of heaven. Let there not be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons. In addition, we make it clear to you, that it will be against the law to put any tax or payment in goods or forced payment on any of the priests or Levites, the music-makers, doorkeepers, Nethinim, or any servants of this house of God. And you, Ezra, by the wisdom of your God which is in you, are to put rulers and judges to have authority over all the people across the river who have knowledge of the laws of your God. You are to teach any who have no knowledge of them. If anyone does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, take care that punishment is given to him. This is by death or by driving him from his country or by taking away his goods or by putting him in prison.


It is my order that all the people of Israel, including their priests and Levites in my kingdom, who are ready and have a desire to go to Jerusalem, are to go with you. The king and his seven wise men send you to get knowledge about Judah and Jerusalem. The Law of your God orders you. You are to take with you the silver and gold freely offered by the king and his wise men to the God of Israel, who's Temple is in Jerusalem, read more.
As well as all the silver and gold which you get from the land of Babylon, together with the offering of the people and of the priests, freely given for the house of their God in Jerusalem. Use this money to buy bulls, sheep, and lambs, with their meal offerings and their drink offerings, to be offered on the altar of the house of your God, which is in Jerusalem. Whatever seems right to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, that do, as may be pleasing to your God. The vessels that have been given to you for the uses of the house of your God, you are to give to the God of Jerusalem. Whatever is needed for the house of your God, and which you may have to give, take it from the king's storehouse. And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, now give orders to all keepers of the king's money across the river, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may have need of from you, is to be done with all care, Up to a hundred talents of silver, a hundred measures of grain, a hundred measures of wine, and a hundred measures of oil, and salt without measure. Whatever the God of heaven orders let it be done completely for the house of the God of heaven. Let there not be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons. In addition, we make it clear to you, that it will be against the law to put any tax or payment in goods or forced payment on any of the priests or Levites, the music-makers, doorkeepers, Nethinim, or any servants of this house of God. And you, Ezra, by the wisdom of your God which is in you, are to put rulers and judges to have authority over all the people across the river who have knowledge of the laws of your God. You are to teach any who have no knowledge of them. If anyone does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, take care that punishment is given to him. This is by death or by driving him from his country or by taking away his goods or by putting him in prison. Praise be to Jehovah, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing into the heart of the king, to make fair the house of Jehovah that is in Jerusalem.

I put on one side twelve of the chiefs of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers with them, I gave to them by weight the silver and the gold and the vessels, all the offering for the house of our God that the king and his wise men and his captains and all Israel there present had given: Measuring into their hands six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels, a hundred talents' weight, and a hundred talents of gold, read more.
And twenty gold basins, of a thousand darics, and two vessels of the best bright brass, equal in value to gold. I said to them: You are holy to Jehovah and the vessels are holy. The silver and the gold are an offering freely given to Jehovah, the God of your fathers. Take care of them and keep them, till you put them on the scales before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites and the chiefs of the families of Israel, in Jerusalem, in the rooms of the house of Jehovah. So the priests and the Levites took the weight of silver and gold and the vessels, to take them to Jerusalem into the house of our God. Then we went away from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us. He gave us salvation from our enemies and those who were waiting to attack us on the way. We went to Jerusalem and were there for three days. On the fourth day, the silver and the gold and the vessels were measured out by weight in the house of our God into the hands of Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the priest; and with him was Eleazar, the son of Phinehas; and with them were Jozabad, the son of Jeshua, and Obadiah, the son of Binnui, the Levites. All was handed over by number and by weight: and the weight was put on record at that time. Those who had been prisoners, who had come back from a strange land, made burned offerings to the God of Israel, twelve oxen for all Israel, ninety-six male sheep, seventy-seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin-offering: all this was a burned offering to Jehovah. They gave the king's orders to the king's captains and the rulers across the river. They gave the people and the house of God the help that was needed.


For his heart was fixed on Jehovah. He did not turn from his ways. Hezekiah obeyed Jehovah's commandments that Jehovah gave to Moses.


Whatever the God of heaven orders let it be done completely for the house of the God of heaven. Let there not be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons.


This is a copy of the letter King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra, the priest and the scribe-copyist, who put into writing the words of the orders of Jehovah and of his rules for Israel: Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, scribe of the law of the God of heaven, all peace; It is my order that all the people of Israel, including their priests and Levites in my kingdom, who are ready and have a desire to go to Jerusalem, are to go with you. read more.
The king and his seven wise men send you to get knowledge about Judah and Jerusalem. The Law of your God orders you. You are to take with you the silver and gold freely offered by the king and his wise men to the God of Israel, who's Temple is in Jerusalem, As well as all the silver and gold which you get from the land of Babylon, together with the offering of the people and of the priests, freely given for the house of their God in Jerusalem. Use this money to buy bulls, sheep, and lambs, with their meal offerings and their drink offerings, to be offered on the altar of the house of your God, which is in Jerusalem. Whatever seems right to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, that do, as may be pleasing to your God. The vessels that have been given to you for the uses of the house of your God, you are to give to the God of Jerusalem. Whatever is needed for the house of your God, and which you may have to give, take it from the king's storehouse. And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, now give orders to all keepers of the king's money across the river, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may have need of from you, is to be done with all care, Up to a hundred talents of silver, a hundred measures of grain, a hundred measures of wine, and a hundred measures of oil, and salt without measure. Whatever the God of heaven orders let it be done completely for the house of the God of heaven. Let there not be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons. In addition, we make it clear to you, that it will be against the law to put any tax or payment in goods or forced payment on any of the priests or Levites, the music-makers, doorkeepers, Nethinim, or any servants of this house of God. And you, Ezra, by the wisdom of your God which is in you, are to put rulers and judges to have authority over all the people across the river who have knowledge of the laws of your God. You are to teach any who have no knowledge of them. If anyone does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, take care that punishment is given to him. This is by death or by driving him from his country or by taking away his goods or by putting him in prison. Praise be to Jehovah, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing into the heart of the king, to make fair the house of Jehovah that is in Jerusalem. He has given mercy to me before the king and his government and before all the king's great captains. I was made strong by the hand of Jehovah my God which was on me, and I got together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.

I gave to them by weight the silver and the gold and the vessels, all the offering for the house of our God that the king and his wise men and his captains and all Israel there present had given: Measuring into their hands six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels, a hundred talents' weight, and a hundred talents of gold, And twenty gold basins, of a thousand darics, and two vessels of the best bright brass, equal in value to gold. read more.
I said to them: You are holy to Jehovah and the vessels are holy. The silver and the gold are an offering freely given to Jehovah, the God of your fathers. Take care of them and keep them, till you put them on the scales before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites and the chiefs of the families of Israel, in Jerusalem, in the rooms of the house of Jehovah. So the priests and the Levites took the weight of silver and gold and the vessels, to take them to Jerusalem into the house of our God. Then we went away from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us. He gave us salvation from our enemies and those who were waiting to attack us on the way. We went to Jerusalem and were there for three days. On the fourth day, the silver and the gold and the vessels were measured out by weight in the house of our God into the hands of Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the priest; and with him was Eleazar, the son of Phinehas; and with them were Jozabad, the son of Jeshua, and Obadiah, the son of Binnui, the Levites. All was handed over by number and by weight: and the weight was put on record at that time.