Ezra 7:13 — Meaning and Application

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.

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. {unto...: or, to Ezra the priest, a perfect scribe of the law of the God of heaven, peace, etc}

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; {of the king: Chaldee, from before the king}

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,