New King James Version
Ezra 7:14
14And whereas you are being sent by the king and his seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, with regard to the Law of your God which is in your hand;
Ezra 7:14 in other versions
- King James Version (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;
- New International Version (NIV)You are sent by the king and his seven advisers to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem with regard to the Law of your God, which is in your hand.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand,
- New Living Translation (NLT)I and my council of seven hereby instruct you to conduct an inquiry into the situation in Judah and Jerusalem, based on your God’s law, which is in your hand.
Context of Ezra 7:14
12Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Perfect peace, and so forth. 13I 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. And whereas you are being sent by the king and his seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, with regard to the Law of your God which is in your hand; 15and whereas you are to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem; 16and 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 freely offered for the house of their God in Jerusalem—
Read all of Ezra 7Ezra 7:14 word by word
כָּל־קֳבֵ֗ל דִּי֩ מִן־קֳדָ֨ם מַלְכָּ֜א וְשִׁבְעַ֤ת יָעֲטֹ֙הִי֙ שְׁלִ֔יחַ לְבַקָּרָ֥א עַל־יְה֖וּד וְלִֽירוּשְׁלֶ֑ם בְּדָ֥ת אֱלָהָ֖ךְ דִּ֥י בִידָֽךְ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Forasmuchקֳבֵלqebêl qŏbêl · before: becauseH6903
- Forasmuchדִּיdîy · thatH1768
- asכֹּלkôl · allH3606
- thou art sentשְׁלַחshelach · to sendH7972
- ofקֳדָםqŏdâm qedâm · beforeH6925
- ofמִן־min · fromH4481
- the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4430
- and of his sevenשִׁבְעָהshib‛âh · sevenH7655
- counsellorsיָעֵטye‛aţ · counsellorH3272
- to enquireבְּקַרbeqar · to enquireH1240
- concerningעַל‛al · uponH5922
- Judahיְהוּדyehûd · JudahH3061
- and Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlêm · JerusalemH3390
- according to the lawדָּתdâth · lawH1882
- of thy Godאֱלָהּ'ĕlâhh · godH426
- in thine handיַדyad · handH3028
People and places in Ezra 7:14
Cross-references for Ezra 7:14
- Esther 1:14those closest to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who had access to the king’s presence, and who ranked highest in the kingdom):
- Ezra 7:25And you, Ezra, according to your God-given wisdom, set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are in the region beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God; and teach those who do not know them.
- Deuteronomy 17:18“Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites.
- Isaiah 8:20To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
- Ezra 1:3Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem.
- Ezra 5:8Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judea, to the temple of the great God, which is being built with heavy stones, and timber is being laid in the walls; and this work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands.
- Ezra 6:12And may the God who causes His name to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this house of God which is in Jerusalem. I Darius issue a decree; let it be done diligently.
- Daniel 2:47The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.”
- Daniel 6:20And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
Commentaries on Ezra 7:14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14His seven counsellors - It is very likely that the privy counsel of the king consisted of seven persons simply. The names of these seven counsellors or chamberlains may be found in the book of Esther, Esther 1:10.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14Seven 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).Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-26Verses 11-26 The liberality of heathen kings to support the worship of God, reproached the conduct of many kings of Judah, and will rise up in judgment against the covetousness of wealthy professed Christians, who will not promote the cause of God. But the weapons of Christian ministers are not carnal. Faithful preaching, holy lives, fervent prayers, and patient suffering when called to it, are the means to bring men into obedience to Christ.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14the king and his seven counselors: The Greek historian Xenophon knew about this council (Xenophon, Anabasis 1.6.4–5). Esther 1:14 lists the names of the seven princes of Xerxes, who was Artaxerxes’ father. the Law of your God: The word translated as law in this verse is the Aramaic word dath, not the Hebrew torah (Ezra 7:10). This suggests that a Persian wrote this letter (Ezra 7:11–26).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. sent of the king, and of his seven counsellors--This was the fixed number of the privy council of the kings of Persia (Es 1:10, 14). The document describes, with great clearness and precision, the nature of Ezra's commission and the extent of power and prerogatives with which he was invested. It gave him authority, in the first place, to organize the colony in Judea and institute a regular government, according to the laws of the Hebrew people, and by…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezra 7:14
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezra 7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries