Ezra 7:14

¹² Artaxerxes, king of kings. To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Greetings.

¹³ I hereby decree that any volunteers among the Israelites in my kingdom, including the priests and Levites, may go up with you to Jerusalem.

You are sent by the king and his seven counselors to evaluate Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand.

¹⁵ Moreover, you are to take with you the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem,

¹⁶ together with all the silver and gold you may find in all the province of Babylon, as well as the freewill offerings of the people and priests to the house of their God in Jerusalem.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: You are sent by the king and his seven counselors to evaluate Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand.
KJV: 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;
WEB: Because you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your hand,
ASV: Forasmuch as thou art sent of the king and his seven counsellors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thy hand,
DARBY: Because thou art sent by the king, and by his seven counsellors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thy hand;
BLB: All according to that from before the king and his seven counselors, you are sent to inquire concerning Judah and concerning Jerusalem with regard to the Law of your God which [is] in your hand,

ÅB: siden du er sendt av kongen og hans syv rådgivere til å se etter hvordan det er med Juda og Jerusalem, etter din Guds lov, som du har i hende,
OTB: Du er sendt av kongen og hans syv rådgivere for å undersøke Juda og Jerusalem med hensyn til din Guds lov, som er i din hånd.
B1930: siden du er sendt av kongen og hans syv rådgivere til å se efter hvorledes det er med Juda og Jerusalem, efter din Guds lov, som du har i hende,

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Esther 1:14
His closest advisors were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media who had personal access to the king and ranked highest in the kingdom.
Read in context
Deuteronomy 17:18–19
When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.
Read in context
Ezra 6:12
May God, who has caused His Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to alter this decree or to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued the decree. Let it be carried out with diligence.
Read in context
Daniel 6:20
When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
Read in context
Isaiah 8:20
To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.
Read in context
Ezra 7:25–26
And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God which you possess, are to appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people west of the Euphrates—all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach these laws to anyone who does not know them.
Read in context
Daniel 2:47
The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”
Read in context
Ezra 1:3
Whoever among you belongs to His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.
Read in context