Ezra 7:13

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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
I	מִנִּי֮ mi.Ni	H4481	properly · preposition + pronominal suffix
make	שִׂ֣ים sim	H7761	to put (used in a great variety of applications · verb, perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
decree	טְעֵם֒ te.'Em	H2942	properly · noun, common both genders singular absolute
all	כָל khol-	H3606	properly · noun, common both genders singular absolute
of	מִן min-	H4481	properly · preposition
people	עַמָּ֨ה 'a.Mah'	H5972	a people (as a congregated unit) · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
Israel	יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל Yis.ra.'El	H3479	Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
priests	וְכָהֲנ֣וֹהִי ve.kha.ha.No.hi	H3549	one officiating · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Levites	וְלֵוָיֵ֗א ve.le.va.Ye'	H3879	something attached · conjunction + noun, gentilic masculine plural determined + particle of affirmation
realm	בְּמַלְכוּתִי֩ be.mal.khu.Ti	H4437	dominion (abstractly or concretely) · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
freewill	מִתְנַדַּ֣ב mit.na.Dav	H5069	be (or give) liberal(-ly) · verb, active participle, masculine singular absolute
up	לִמְהָ֧ךְ lim.Hakh	H1946	to go · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
Jerusalem	לִֽירוּשְׁלֶ֛ם li.ru.she.Lem	H3390	Jerusalem · preposition + proper noun, a place name
go	יְהָֽךְ ye.Hakh	H1946	to go · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
thee	עִמָּ֖ךְ 'i.Makh	H5974	adverb or preposition · preposition + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Ezra 6:1 Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon.
2 Chronicles 30:5 So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the pass…
Ezra 1:3 Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the…
Ezra 5:13 But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God.
Esther 3:15 The posts went out, being hastened by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat dow…
Esther 9:14 And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree was given at Shushan; and they hanged Haman’s ten sons.
Psalms 110:3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy yout…
Psalms 148:6 He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ezra 7:11-26

We have here the commission which the Persian emperor granted to Ezra, giving him authority to act for the good of the Jews; and it is very ample and full, and beyond what could have been expected. The commission runs, we suppose, in the usual form: Artaxerxes, King of kings. This however is too high a title for any mortal man to assume; he was indeed king of some kings, but to speak as if he were king of all kings was to usurp his prerogative who hath all power both in heaven and in earth. He sends greeting to his trusty and well-beloved Ezra, whom he calls a scribe of the law of the God of heaven (Ezr 7:12), a title which (it seems by this) Ezra valued himself by, and desired no other, no,…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ezra 7:12

Artaxerxes, king of kings--That title might have been assumed as, with literal truth, applicable to him, since many of the tributary princes of his empire still retained the name and authority of kings. But it was a probably a mere Orientalism, denoting a great and powerful prince, as the heaven of heavens signified the highest heaven, and vanity of vanities, the greatest vanity. This vainglorious title was assumed by the kings of Assyria, from whom it passed to the sovereigns of Persia. unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven--The appointment of Ezra to this influential mission was of the highest importance to the Hebrew people, as a large proportion of them were be…

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Adam Clarke on Ezra 7:13

Their own free-will - None shall be forced either to go or to stay. He who loves his God will avail himself of this favorable opportunity.

John Gill on Ezra 7:13

I make a decree,.... Which, according to the laws of the Medes and Persians, when signed, might not be changed, Daniel 6:8, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm; who remained there, and took not the benefit of the edict of Cyrus, which gave them leave to go; but neglecting the opportunity, it seems as if they could not now go out of the realm without a fresh grant, which is hereby given: which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee; this decree did not oblige them to go whether they would or not; for they might, notwithstanding this, continue if they pleased; it only gave them leave to make use of the present oppor…

The Church Fathers

From me a decree has been made, etc. He grants permission to all who wish to go to Jerusalem, he compels no one to go: and Christian princes, compelling no one, lest the will of faith be uncertain or doubtful, permit all who are pleased from their kingdom to worship Christ.
— Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Bible — Bible, the English form of the Greek name Biblia, meaning “books,” the name which in the fifth century began to be given to the entire collection of sacred books, the “Library of Divine Revelation.”…
Chaldee language — Employed by the sacred writers in certain portions of the Old Testament, viz., Dan. 2:4-7, 28; Ezra 4:8-6:18; 7:12-26; Gen. 31:46; Jer. 10:11. It is the Aramaic dialect, as it is sometimes called, as…
Exile — (1.) Of the kingdom of Israel. In the time of Pekah, Tiglath-pileser II. carried away captive into Assyria (2 Kings 15:29; comp. Isa. 10:5, 6) a part of the inhabitants of Galilee and of Gilead (B.C.…
Persia — An ancient empire, extending from the Indus to Thrace, and from the Caspian Sea to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The Persians were originally a Medic tribe which settled in Persia, on the eastern…

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Ezra 7:13

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ezra 7:11-26

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ezra 7:12

Adam Clarke on Ezra 7:13

John Gill on Ezra 7:13

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Ezra 7:13

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ezra 7:11-26

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ezra 7:12

Adam Clarke on Ezra 7:13

John Gill on Ezra 7:13

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Ezra 7:11–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Ezra 7:11-26

Rashi on Ezra 7:13