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Selected Verse: Ezra 7:1 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Ezr 7:1	Strong Concordance	Now after [0310] these things [01697], in the reign [04438] of Artaxerxes [0783] king [04428] of Persia [06539], Ezra [05830] the son [01121] of Seraiah [08304], the son [01121] of Azariah [05838], the son [01121] of Hilkiah [02518],
	King James	Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
EZRA GOES UP TO JERUSALEM. (Ezr 7:1-10) in the reign of Artaxerxes--the Ahasuerus of Esther. Ezra the son of Seraiah--that is, grandson or great-grandson. Seraiah was the high priest put to death by Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah (Kg2 25:18). A period of one hundred thirty years had elapsed between that catastrophe and the journey of Ezra to Jerusalem. As a grandson of Seraiah, namely, Jeshua, who held the office of high priest, had accompanied Zerubbabel in the first caravan of returning exiles, Ezra must have been in all probability a grandson, descended, too, from a younger son, the older branch being in possession of the pontificate.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

EZRA GOES UP TO JERUSALEM. (Ezr 7:1-10)

in the reign of Artaxerxes--the Ahasuerus of Esther.

Ezra the son of Seraiah--that is, grandson or great-grandson. Seraiah was the high priest put to death by Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah (Kg2 25:18). A period of one hundred thirty years had elapsed between that catastrophe and the journey of Ezra to Jerusalem. As a grandson of Seraiah, namely, Jeshua, who held the office of high priest, had accompanied Zerubbabel in the first caravan of returning exiles, Ezra must have been in all probability a grandson, descended, too, from a younger son, the older branch being in possession of the pontificate.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
After these things - The words mark an interval of 57 years; if, with most commentators, we take Artaxerxes to be Longimanus. See the introduction to the Book of Ezra. Three kings named Artaxerxes, the Greek rendering of the Hebrew Artakhshasta, and the Persian Artakhshatra, ruled over Persia, namely,: Longimanus, Mnemon, and Ochus. The evidence is in favor of the first being meant here: he was the grandson of Darius Hystaspis, Jeshua's contemporary. The genealogy of Ezra here is incomplete. The time between the Exodus and Ezra must have exceeded one thousand years, and cannot have been covered by 16 generations. One gap may be filled up from Ch1 6:7-10, which supplies six names between Meraioth and Azariah Ezr 7:3 : another gap probably occurs between Seraiah Ezr 7:1 and Ezra himself; since Seraiah appears to be the high priest of Zedekiah's time (marginal reference), who lived at least 130 years before Ezra. Three or four names are probably missing in this place. Another name (Meraioth) may be supplied from Ch1 9:11, between Zadok and Ahitub Ezr 7:2. These additions would produce 27 generations - a number nearly sufficient - instead of 16 generations.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
Ezr 7:1-10 form the introduction to the narrative which follows of Ezra's return to Jerusalem and his ministry there, and speak in general terms of himself and his arrival at Jerusalem with a band of exiles. They are followed, vv. 11-26, by a copy of the royal commission, and a thanksgiving, Ezr 7:27, Ezr 7:28, on the part of Ezra, for the mercy of God bestowed upon him. Ezr 7:1-6 What follows is slightly combined with the former occurrences by the formula "after these things," without any more exact chronological definition; comp. Gen 15:1; Gen 22:1, and elsewhere. Between the dedication of the temple in the sixth year of Darius and the arrival of Ezra in Jerusalem, a period of fifty-seven years had elapsed. "In the reign of Artachshasta king of Persia, went up Ezra," etc. The verb of the subject עזרא does not follow till Ezr 7:6, where, after the interposition of the long genealogy, Ezr 7:1-5, the distant subject is again taken up in עזרא הוּא. It is all but universally agreed that Artaxerxes Longimanus is intended by ארתּחשׁסתּא; the explanation of this appellation as Xerxes in Joseph. Antiq. xi. 5. 1, for which Fritzsche (on 1 Esdr. 8:1) has recently decided, being a mere conjecture on the part of that not very critical historian. The fact that the Artachshasta of the book of Nehemiah (Neh 1:1; Neh 5:14; Neh 13:6) can be no other than Artaxerxes, is decisive of this point: for in Neh 13:6 the thirty-second year of Artachshasta is mentioned; while according to Neh 8:9; Neh 12:26, Neh 12:36, Ezra and Nehemiah jointly exercised their respective offices at Jerusalem. (Note: Very superficial are the arguments, and indeed the whole pamphlet, Etude Chronologique des livres d'Esdras et de Nhmie, Paris 1868, p. 40, etc., by which F. de Saulcy tries to show that the Artachshasta of Ezra 7 and of Nehemiah is Artaxerxes II (Mnemon).) Ezra is called Ben Seraiah, whose pedigree is traced to Eleazar the son of Aaron; Seraiah the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, was the father of Josedec the high priest carried into captivity (Ch1 6:14, etc.), and was himself the high priest whom Nebuchadnezzar slew at Riblah (Kg2 25:18-21). Between the execution of Seraiah in the year 588 and the return of Ezra from Babylon in 458 b.c., there is a period of 130 years. Hence Ezra could have been neither the son nor grandson of Seraiah, but only his great or great-great-grandson. When we consider that Joshua, or Jeshua (Ezr 2:2), the high priest who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, was the grandson of Seraiah, we cannot but regard Ezra, who returned thence 78 years later, as a great-great-grandson of Seraiah. Moreover, we are justified in inferring from the fact that Ezra is not, like Joshua, designated as Ben Josedech, that he did not descend from that line of Seraiah in which the high-priestly dignity was hereditary, but from a younger son, and hence that his immediate ancestors were not (though his forefathers from Seraiah upwards were) of high-priestly descent. Hence the names of Ezra's ancestors from Seraiah up to Aaron (Ezr 7:1-5) agree also with the genealogy of the high-priestly race (Ch1 6:4-14), with the one deviation that in Ezr 7:3, between Azariah and Meraioth, six members are passed over, as is frequently the case in the longer genealogies, for the sake of shortening the list of names. - In v. 6 Ezra, for the sake of at once alluding to the nature of his office, is designated בת מהיר סוף ר, a scribe skilful in the law of Moses. The word סופר means in older works writer or secretary; but even so early as Jer 8:8 the lying pen of the ספרים is spoken of, and here therefore סופר has already attained the meaning of one learned in the Scripture, one who has made the written law a subject of investigation. Ezra is, however, the first of whom the predicate הסּופר, ὁ γραμματεύς, is used as a title. He is so called also in the letter of Artaxerxes (Ezr 7:11), because he is said (Ezr 7:9) to have applied his heart to seek out and to do the law of the Lord, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgment, i.e., because he had made the investigation of the law, for the sake of introducing the practice of the same among the congregation, his life-task; and the king granted him all his desire, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him. The peculiar expression עליו אלהיו יהוה כּיד which is found only here and in Ezr 7:9, Ezr 7:28, Ezr 8:18; Neh 2:8, Neh 2:18, and in a slightly altered guise in Ezr 8:22, Ezr 8:31, "according to the good hand of his God, which was over him," means: according to the divine favour or divine care arranging for him; for the hand of God is הטּובה, the good (Ezr 7:9, and Ezr 8:18), or לטובה, Ezr 8:22. בּקּשׁה, the desire, request, demand, occurs only here and in the book of Esther. Ezr 7:7-10 With Ezra went up a number of Israelites, priests, and Levites. מן partitive: a part of the whole. That they went up with Ezra appears from the context, and is expressly stated both in the royal edict (Ezr 7:13) and in the further description of the expedition (Ezr 7:28, Ezr 8:1). They went up in the seventh year of Artaxerxes, and reached Jerusalem in the fifth month of that year. - In Ezr 7:8 Ezra is again, as in Ezr 7:6, the subject of the sentence; the intervening seventh verse being really only in apposition with Ezr 7:6. - In Ezr 7:9 the time occupied by the journey is more precisely defined; כּי is explanatory. Namely, on the first day of the first month, he had appointed the journey from Babylon, etc. The Keri יסד הוּא can only mean, ipsum erat fundamentum profectionis, as J. H. Mich. after R. Sal. explains it, for יסד is pointed as the construct state. The departure of the expedition from the place of meeting occurred, according to Ezr 8:31, on the twelfth day of the first month. Since, however, they encamped three days there, making the final preparations for their journey, eleven days might easily elapse between the period when the whole caravan had assembled, and the day of actual departure. The Keri offers no appropriate signification; for since הוּא can only be taken for the subject, and הם יסד for the predicate, the sentence would contain an anacoluthon. To translate הוּא by ipsum cannot be justified by the usages of the language, for there is no such emphasis on יסד as to cause הוּא to be regarded as an emphatic reference to the following noun. יסד must be pointed יסד or יסּד, as the third pers. perf. Kal or Piel, meaning to arrange, to appoint, and הוּא referred to Ezra. On הטּובה אלהיו כּיד, comp. Ezr 7:6. The hand of his God graciously arranged for him, for he had prepared his heart to seek and to do the law of Jahve, i.e., to make the law of God his rule of action. לבבו הכין, like Ch2 12:14; Ch2 19:3; Ch2 30:19. To teach in Israel statutes and judgments, as both are prescribed in the law of God.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

Ezr 7:1-10 form the introduction to the narrative which follows of Ezra's return to Jerusalem and his ministry there, and speak in general terms of himself and his arrival at Jerusalem with a band of exiles. They are followed, vv. 11-26, by a copy of the royal commission, and a thanksgiving, Ezr 7:27, Ezr 7:28, on the part of Ezra, for the mercy of God bestowed upon him.

Ezr 7:1-6

What follows is slightly combined with the former occurrences by the formula "after these things," without any more exact chronological definition; comp. Gen 15:1; Gen 22:1, and elsewhere. Between the dedication of the temple in the sixth year of Darius and the arrival of Ezra in Jerusalem, a period of fifty-seven years had elapsed. "In the reign of Artachshasta king of Persia, went up Ezra," etc. The verb of the subject עזרא does not follow till Ezr 7:6, where, after the interposition of the long genealogy, Ezr 7:1-5, the distant subject is again taken up in עזרא הוּא. It is all but universally agreed that Artaxerxes Longimanus is intended by ארתּחשׁסתּא; the explanation of this appellation as Xerxes in Joseph. Antiq. xi. 5. 1, for which Fritzsche (on 1 Esdr. 8:1) has recently decided, being a mere conjecture on the part of that not very critical historian. The fact that the Artachshasta of the book of Nehemiah (Neh 1:1; Neh 5:14; Neh 13:6) can be no other than Artaxerxes, is decisive of this point: for in Neh 13:6 the thirty-second year of Artachshasta is mentioned; while according to Neh 8:9; Neh 12:26, Neh 12:36, Ezra and Nehemiah jointly exercised their respective offices at Jerusalem.

(Note: Very superficial are the arguments, and indeed the whole pamphlet, Etude Chronologique des livres d'Esdras et de Nhmie, Paris 1868, p. 40, etc., by which F. de Saulcy tries to show that the Artachshasta of Ezra 7 and of Nehemiah is Artaxerxes II (Mnemon).)

Ezra is called Ben Seraiah, whose pedigree is traced to Eleazar the son of Aaron; Seraiah the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, was the father of Josedec the high priest carried into captivity (Ch1 6:14, etc.), and was himself the high priest whom Nebuchadnezzar slew at Riblah (Kg2 25:18-21). Between the execution of Seraiah in the year 588 and the return of Ezra from Babylon in 458 b.c., there is a period of 130 years. Hence Ezra could have been neither the son nor grandson of Seraiah, but only his great or great-great-grandson. When we consider that Joshua, or Jeshua (Ezr 2:2), the high priest who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, was the grandson of Seraiah, we cannot but regard Ezra, who returned thence 78 years later, as a great-great-grandson of Seraiah. Moreover, we are justified in inferring from the fact that Ezra is not, like Joshua, designated as Ben Josedech, that he did not descend from that line of Seraiah in which the high-priestly dignity was hereditary, but from a younger son, and hence that his immediate ancestors were not (though his forefathers from Seraiah upwards were) of high-priestly descent. Hence the names of Ezra's ancestors from Seraiah up to Aaron (Ezr 7:1-5) agree also with the genealogy of the high-priestly race (Ch1 6:4-14), with the one deviation that in Ezr 7:3, between Azariah and Meraioth, six members are passed over, as is frequently the case in the longer genealogies, for the sake of shortening the list of names. - In v. 6 Ezra, for the sake of at once alluding to the nature of his office, is designated בת מהיר סוף ר, a scribe skilful in the law of Moses. The word סופר means in older works writer or secretary; but even so early as Jer 8:8 the lying pen of the ספרים is spoken of, and here therefore סופר has already attained the meaning of one learned in the Scripture, one who has made the written law a subject of investigation. Ezra is, however, the first of whom the predicate הסּופר, ὁ γραμματεύς, is used as a title. He is so called also in the letter of Artaxerxes (Ezr 7:11), because he is said (Ezr 7:9) to have applied his heart to seek out and to do the law of the Lord, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgment, i.e., because he had made the investigation of the law, for the sake of introducing the practice of the same among the congregation, his life-task; and the king granted him all his desire, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him. The peculiar expression עליו אלהיו יהוה כּיד which is found only here and in Ezr 7:9, Ezr 7:28, Ezr 8:18; Neh 2:8, Neh 2:18, and in a slightly altered guise in Ezr 8:22, Ezr 8:31, "according to the good hand of his God, which was over him," means: according to the divine favour or divine care arranging for him; for the hand of God is הטּובה, the good (Ezr 7:9, and Ezr 8:18), or לטובה, Ezr 8:22. בּקּשׁה, the desire, request, demand, occurs only here and in the book of Esther.

Ezr 7:7-10

With Ezra went up a number of Israelites, priests, and Levites. מן partitive: a part of the whole. That they went up with Ezra appears from the context, and is expressly stated both in the royal edict (Ezr 7:13) and in the further description of the expedition (Ezr 7:28, Ezr 8:1). They went up in the seventh year of Artaxerxes, and reached Jerusalem in the fifth month of that year. - In Ezr 7:8 Ezra is again, as in Ezr 7:6, the subject of the sentence; the intervening seventh verse being really only in apposition with Ezr 7:6. - In Ezr 7:9 the time occupied by the journey is more precisely defined; כּי is explanatory. Namely, on the first day of the first month, he had appointed the journey from Babylon, etc. The Keri יסד הוּא can only mean, ipsum erat fundamentum profectionis, as J. H. Mich. after R. Sal. explains it, for יסד is pointed as the construct state. The departure of the expedition from the place of meeting occurred, according to Ezr 8:31, on the twelfth day of the first month. Since, however, they encamped three days there, making the final preparations for their journey, eleven days might easily elapse between the period when the whole caravan had assembled, and the day of actual departure. The Keri offers no appropriate signification; for since הוּא can only be taken for the subject, and הם יסד for the predicate, the sentence would contain an anacoluthon. To translate הוּא by ipsum cannot be justified by the usages of the language, for there is no such emphasis on יסד as to cause הוּא to be regarded as an emphatic reference to the following noun. יסד must be pointed יסד or יסּד, as the third pers. perf. Kal or Piel, meaning to arrange, to appoint, and הוּא referred to Ezra. On הטּובה אלהיו כּיד, comp. Ezr 7:6. The hand of his God graciously arranged for him, for he had prepared his heart to seek and to do the law of Jahve, i.e., to make the law of God his rule of action. לבבו הכין, like Ch2 12:14; Ch2 19:3; Ch2 30:19. To teach in Israel statutes and judgments, as both are prescribed in the law of God.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Artaxerxes - The same of whom he speaks, Ezr 6:14. The son - His grand - son. Here are divers persons omitted for brevity sake, which may be supplied out of 1Ch. 6:1-11:47. Ezra was not himself the high priest; but he was nearly related to him.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
In the reign of Artaxerxes - This was Artaxerxes Longimanus, the seventh of whose reign chronologers place A.M. 3547, sixty-eight years after Cyrus had sent back Zerubbabel. - Calmet. See the introduction. Son of Seraiah - Either this could not have been Seraiah the high priest, who had been put to death by Nebuchadnezzar one hundred and twenty-one years before this time, or the term son here must signify only his descendants, or one of his descendants. Were it otherwise, Ezra must now be at least one hundred and twenty-two years of age, supposing him to have been born in the year of his father's death; if, indeed Seraiah the high priest was his father; but this is evidently impossible. In this place there are only sixteen generations reckoned between Ezra and Aaron, but in Ch1 6:3, Ch1 6:4, etc., there are not less than twenty-two. We must therefore supply the deficient generations from the above place, between Amariah son of Meraioth, Ch1 6:7, and Azariah the son of Johanan, Ch1 6:10. There are other discrepancies relative to genealogies in these historical books which it would be useless to investigate. On these differences much has been already said in different parts of this comment.

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¹ Now after [0310] these things [01697], in the reign [04438] of Artaxerxes [0783] king [04428] of Persia [06539], Ezra [05830] the son [01121] of Seraiah [08304], the son [01121] of Azariah [05838], the son [01121] of Hilkiah [02518],
² The son [01121] of Shallum [07967], the son [01121] of Zadok [06659], the son [01121] of Ahitub [0285],
³ The son [01121] of Amariah [0568], the son [01121] of Azariah [05838], the son [01121] of Meraioth [04812],
⁴ The son [01121] of Zerahiah [02228], the son [01121] of Uzzi [05813], the son [01121] of Bukki [01231],
⁵ The son [01121] of Abishua [050], the son [01121] of Phinehas [06372], the son [01121] of Eleazar [0499], the son [01121] of Aaron [0175] the chief [07218] priest [03548]:
⁶ This Ezra [05830] went up [05927] from Babylon [0894]; and he was a ready [04106] scribe [05608] in the law [08451] of Moses [04872], which the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478] had given [05414]: and the king [04428] granted [05414] him all his request [01246], according to the hand [03027] of the LORD [03068] his God [0430] upon him.
⁷ And there went up [05927] some of the children [01121] of Israel [03478], and of the priests [03548], and the Levites [03881], and the singers [07891], and the porters [07778], and the Nethinims [05411], unto Jerusalem [03389], in the seventh [07651] year [08141] of Artaxerxes [0783] the king [04428].
⁸ And he came [0935] to Jerusalem [03389] in the fifth [02549] month [02320], which was in the seventh [07637] year [08141] of the king [04428].
⁹ For upon the first [0259] day of the first [07223] month [02320] began [03246] he to go up [04609] from Babylon [0894], and on the first [0259] day of the fifth [02549] month [02320] came [0935] he to Jerusalem [03389], according to the good [02896] hand [03027] of his God [0430] upon him.
¹⁰ For Ezra [05830] had prepared [03559] his heart [03824] to seek [01875] the law [08451] of the LORD [03068], and to do [06213] it, and to teach [03925] in Israel [03478] statutes [02706] and judgments [04941].

² The son [01121] of Shallum [07967], the son [01121] of Zadok [06659], the son [01121] of Ahitub [0285],

¹¹ And Azariah [05838] the son [01121] of Hilkiah [02518], the son [01121] of Meshullam [04918], the son [01121] of Zadok [06659], the son [01121] of Meraioth [04812], the son [01121] of Ahitub [0285], the ruler [05057] of the house [01004] of God [0430];

³ The son [01121] of Amariah [0568], the son [01121] of Azariah [05838], the son [01121] of Meraioth [04812],

⁷ Meraioth [04812] begat [03205] Amariah [0568], and Amariah [0568] begat [03205] Ahitub [0285],
⁸ And Ahitub [0285] begat [03205] Zadok [06659], and Zadok [06659] begat [03205] Ahimaaz [0290],
⁹ And Ahimaaz [0290] begat [03205] Azariah [05838], and Azariah [05838] begat [03205] Johanan [03110],
¹⁰ And Johanan [03110] begat [03205] Azariah [05838], (he it is that executed the priest's office [03547] in the temple [01004] that Solomon [08010] built [01129] in Jerusalem [03389]:)

¹⁹ That prepareth [03559] his heart [03824] to seek [01875] God [0430], the LORD [03068] God [0430] of his fathers [01], though he be not cleansed according to the purification [02893] of the sanctuary [06944].

³ Nevertheless [061] there are good [02896] things [01697] found [04672] in thee, in that thou hast taken away [01197] the groves [0842] out of the land [0776], and hast prepared [03559] thine heart [03824] to seek [01875] God [0430].

¹⁴ And he did [06213] evil [07451], because he prepared [03559] not his heart [03820] to seek [01875] the LORD [03068].

⁶ This Ezra [05830] went up [05927] from Babylon [0894]; and he was a ready [04106] scribe [05608] in the law [08451] of Moses [04872], which the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478] had given [05414]: and the king [04428] granted [05414] him all his request [01246], according to the hand [03027] of the LORD [03068] his God [0430] upon him.

³¹ Then we departed [05265] from the river [05104] of Ahava [0163] on the twelfth [08147] [06240] day of the first [07223] month [02320], to go [03212] unto Jerusalem [03389]: and the hand [03027] of our God [0430] was upon us, and he delivered [05337] us from the hand [03709] of the enemy [0341], and of such as lay in wait [0693] by the way [01870].

⁹ For upon the first [0259] day of the first [07223] month [02320] began [03246] he to go up [04609] from Babylon [0894], and on the first [0259] day of the fifth [02549] month [02320] came [0935] he to Jerusalem [03389], according to the good [02896] hand [03027] of his God [0430] upon him.

⁸ And he came [0935] to Jerusalem [03389] in the fifth [02549] month [02320], which was in the seventh [07637] year [08141] of the king [04428].

¹ These are now the chief [07218] of their fathers [01], and this is the genealogy [03187] of them that went up [05927] with me from Babylon [0894], in the reign [04438] of Artaxerxes [0783] the king [04428].

²⁸ And hath extended [05186] mercy [02617] unto me before [06440] the king [04428], and his counsellors [03289], and before all the king's [04428] mighty [01368] princes [08269]. And I was strengthened [02388] as the hand [03027] of the LORD [03068] my God [0430] was upon me, and I gathered together [06908] out of Israel [03478] chief men [07218] to go up [05927] with me.

¹³ I [04481] make [07761] a decree [02942], that all [03606] they of [04481] the people [05972] of Israel [03479], and of his priests [03549] and Levites [03879], in my realm [04437], which are minded of their own freewill [05069] to go up [01946] to Jerusalem [03390], go [01946] with thee [05974].

⁷ And there went up [05927] some of the children [01121] of Israel [03478], and of the priests [03548], and the Levites [03881], and the singers [07891], and the porters [07778], and the Nethinims [05411], unto Jerusalem [03389], in the seventh [07651] year [08141] of Artaxerxes [0783] the king [04428].
⁸ And he came [0935] to Jerusalem [03389] in the fifth [02549] month [02320], which was in the seventh [07637] year [08141] of the king [04428].
⁹ For upon the first [0259] day of the first [07223] month [02320] began [03246] he to go up [04609] from Babylon [0894], and on the first [0259] day of the fifth [02549] month [02320] came [0935] he to Jerusalem [03389], according to the good [02896] hand [03027] of his God [0430] upon him.
¹⁰ For Ezra [05830] had prepared [03559] his heart [03824] to seek [01875] the law [08451] of the LORD [03068], and to do [06213] it, and to teach [03925] in Israel [03478] statutes [02706] and judgments [04941].

²² For I was ashamed [0954] to require [07592] of the king [04428] a band of soldiers [02428] and horsemen [06571] to help [05826] us against the enemy [0341] in the way [01870]: because we had spoken [0559] unto the king [04428], saying [0559], The hand [03027] of our God [0430] is upon all them for good [02896] that seek [01245] him; but his power [05797] and his wrath [0639] is against all them that forsake [05800] him.

¹⁸ And by the good [02896] hand [03027] of our God [0430] upon us they brought [0935] us a man [0376] of understanding [07922], of the sons [01121] of Mahli [04249], the son [01121] of Levi [03878], the son [01121] of Israel [03478]; and Sherebiah [08274], with his sons [01121] and his brethren [0251], eighteen [08083] [06240];

¹⁸ Then I told [05046] them of the hand [03027] of my God [0430] which was good [02896] upon me; as also the king's [04428] words [01697] that he had spoken [0559] unto me. And they said [0559], Let us rise up [06965] and build [01129]. So they strengthened [02388] their hands [03027] for this good [02896] work.

⁸ And a letter [0107] unto Asaph [0623] the keeper [08104] of the king's [04428] forest [06508], that he may give [05414] me timber [06086] to make beams [07136] for the gates [08179] of the palace [01002] which appertained to the house [01004], and for the wall [02346] of the city [05892], and for the house [01004] that I shall enter into [0935]. And the king [04428] granted [05414] me, according to the good [02896] hand [03027] of my God [0430] upon me.

¹¹ Now this is the copy [06572] of the letter [05406] that the king [04428] Artaxerxes [0783] gave [05414] unto Ezra [05830] the priest [03548], the scribe [05608], even a scribe [05608] of the words [01697] of the commandments [04687] of the LORD [03068], and of his statutes [02706] to Israel [03478].

⁸ How do ye say [0559], We are wise [02450], and the law [08451] of the LORD [03068] is with us? Lo, certainly [0403] in vain [08267] made [06213] he it; the pen [05842] of the scribes [05608] is in vain [08267].

³ The son [01121] of Amariah [0568], the son [01121] of Azariah [05838], the son [01121] of Meraioth [04812],

⁴ Eleazar [0499] begat [03205] Phinehas [06372], Phinehas [06372] begat [03205] Abishua [050],
⁵ And Abishua [050] begat [03205] Bukki [01231], and Bukki [01231] begat [03205] Uzzi [05813],
⁶ And Uzzi [05813] begat [03205] Zerahiah [02228], and Zerahiah [02228] begat [03205] Meraioth [04812],
⁷ Meraioth [04812] begat [03205] Amariah [0568], and Amariah [0568] begat [03205] Ahitub [0285],
⁸ And Ahitub [0285] begat [03205] Zadok [06659], and Zadok [06659] begat [03205] Ahimaaz [0290],
⁹ And Ahimaaz [0290] begat [03205] Azariah [05838], and Azariah [05838] begat [03205] Johanan [03110],
¹⁰ And Johanan [03110] begat [03205] Azariah [05838], (he it is that executed the priest's office [03547] in the temple [01004] that Solomon [08010] built [01129] in Jerusalem [03389]:)
¹¹ And Azariah [05838] begat [03205] Amariah [0568], and Amariah [0568] begat [03205] Ahitub [0285],
¹² And Ahitub [0285] begat [03205] Zadok [06659], and Zadok [06659] begat [03205] Shallum [07967],
¹³ And Shallum [07967] begat [03205] Hilkiah [02518], and Hilkiah [02518] begat [03205] Azariah [05838],
¹⁴ And Azariah [05838] begat [03205] Seraiah [08304], and Seraiah [08304] begat [03205] Jehozadak [03087],

² Which came [0935] with Zerubbabel [02216]: Jeshua [03442], Nehemiah [05166], Seraiah [08304], Reelaiah [07480], Mordecai [04782], Bilshan [01114], Mispar [04558], Bigvai [0902], Rehum [07348], Baanah [01196]. The number [04557] of the men [0582] of the people [05971] of Israel [03478]:

¹⁸ And the captain [07227] of the guard [02876] took [03947] Seraiah [08304] the chief [07218] priest [03548], and Zephaniah [06846] the second [04932] priest [03548], and the three [07969] keepers [08104] of the door [05592]:
¹⁹ And out of the city [05892] he took [03947] an [0259] officer [05631] that was set [06496] over the men [0582] of war [04421], and five [02568] men [0582] of them that were [07200] in the king's [04428] presence [06440], which were found [04672] in the city [05892], and the principal [08269] scribe [05608] of the host [06635], which mustered [06633] the people [05971] of the land [0776], and threescore [08346] men [0376] of the people [05971] of the land [0776] that were found [04672] in the city [05892]:
²⁰ And Nebuzaradan [05018] captain [07227] of the guard [02876] took [03947] these, and brought [03212] them to the king [04428] of Babylon [0894] to Riblah [07247]:
²¹ And the king [04428] of Babylon [0894] smote [05221] them, and slew [04191] them at Riblah [07247] in the land [0776] of Hamath [02574]. So Judah [03063] was carried away [01540] out of their land [0127].

¹⁴ And Azariah [05838] begat [03205] Seraiah [08304], and Seraiah [08304] begat [03205] Jehozadak [03087],

³⁶ And his brethren [0251], Shemaiah [08098], and Azarael [05832], Milalai [04450], Gilalai [01562], Maai [04597], Nethaneel [05417], and Judah [03063], Hanani [02607], with the musical [07892] instruments [03627] of David [01732] the man [0376] of God [0430], and Ezra [05830] the scribe [05608] before [06440] them.

²⁶ These were in the days [03117] of Joiakim [03113] the son [01121] of Jeshua [03442], the son [01121] of Jozadak [03136], and in the days [03117] of Nehemiah [05166] the governor [06346], and of Ezra [05830] the priest [03548], the scribe [05608].

⁹ And Nehemiah [05166], which is the Tirshatha [08660], and Ezra [05830] the priest [03548] the scribe [05608], and the Levites [03881] that taught [0995] the people [05971], said [0559] unto all the people [05971], This day [03117] is holy [06918] unto the LORD [03068] your God [0430]; mourn [056] not, nor weep [01058]. For all the people [05971] wept [01058], when they heard [08085] the words [01697] of the law [08451].

⁶ But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem [03389]: for in the two [08147] and thirtieth [07970] year [08141] of Artaxerxes [0783] king [04428] of Babylon [0894] came [0935] I unto the king [04428], and after [07093] certain days [03117] obtained I leave [07592] of the king [04428]:

¹⁴ Moreover from the time [03117] that I was appointed [06680] to be their governor [06346] in the land [0776] of Judah [03063], from the twentieth [06242] year [08141] even unto the two [08147] and thirtieth [07970] year [08141] of Artaxerxes [0783] the king [04428], that is, twelve [08147] [06240] years [08141], I and my brethren [0251] have not eaten [0398] the bread [03899] of the governor [06346].

¹ The words [01697] of Nehemiah [05166] the son [01121] of Hachaliah [02446]. And it came to pass in the month [02320] Chisleu [03691], in the twentieth [06242] year [08141], as I was in Shushan [07800] the palace [01002],

¹ And it came to pass after [0310] these things [01697], that God [0430] did tempt [05254] Abraham [085], and said [0559] unto him, Abraham [085]: and he said [0559], Behold, here I am.

¹ After [0310] these things [01697] the word [01697] of the LORD [03068] came [01961] unto Abram [087] in a vision [04236], saying [0559], Fear [03372] not, Abram [087]: I am thy shield [04043], and thy exceeding [03966] great [07235] reward [07939].

²⁷ Blessed [01288] be the LORD [03068] God [0430] of our fathers [01], which hath put [05414] such a thing as this in the king's [04428] heart [03820], to beautify [06286] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068] which is in Jerusalem [03389]:

¹⁴ And the elders [07868] of the Jews [03062] builded [01124], and they prospered [06744] through the prophesying [05017] of Haggai [02292] the prophet [05029] and Zechariah [02148] the son [01247] of Iddo [05714]. And they builded [01124], and finished [03635] it, according [04481] to the commandment [02941] of the God [0426] of Israel [03479], and according to the commandment [02942] of Cyrus [03567], and Darius [01868], and Artaxerxes [0783] king [04430] of Persia [06540].

¹⁰ And Johanan [03110] begat [03205] Azariah [05838], (he it is that executed the priest's office [03547] in the temple [01004] that Solomon [08010] built [01129] in Jerusalem [03389]:)

⁷ Meraioth [04812] begat [03205] Amariah [0568], and Amariah [0568] begat [03205] Ahitub [0285],

⁴ Eleazar [0499] begat [03205] Phinehas [06372], Phinehas [06372] begat [03205] Abishua [050],

³ And the children [01121] of Amram [06019]; Aaron [0175], and Moses [04872], and Miriam [04813]. The sons [01121] also of Aaron [0175]; Nadab [05070], and Abihu [030], Eleazar [0499], and Ithamar [0385].