Ezra 7:12
in Ezra 7Artaxerxes, king of kings. To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Greetings.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect and so forth.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Ezra 7
Commentary
8 notes on this verseArtaxerxes, king of kings - This letter, from the beginning of this verse to the end of Ezr 7:26, is in the Aramitic or Chaldee language. This title of the king would, in Persian, run thus: Ardsheer shahinshah, or padshah, “Ardsheer, king of kings;” “great or supreme king, or emperor.”
This site's exposition
This is the text of the letter
on Ezra 7:11-14
The king's own letter follows, and verses 12 to 26 run in Aramaic. Artaxerxes styles himself king of kings, a title Adam Clarke notes was partly true of the Persian throne. Ezra is sent by the king to evaluate Judah and Jerusalem by the Law in his hand.
This site's exposition
Artaxerxes, king of kings
Adam Clarke gives the Persian form of the title as Ardsheer shahinshah, king of kings. The letter styles Ezra the scribe of the Law of God, and verse 21 repeats the title word for word to the treasurers. God of heaven is the name Cyrus used at 1:2.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
King of kings Artaxerxes to Ezra the priest, etc. He names him the most learned scribe of the law of the God of heaven, because even to the king himself the fame of divine virtue had reached, through which he had renewed the Law, burned …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), a title which (it seems by this) Ezra valued himself by, and desired no other, no, not when he was advanced to the proconsular dignity. He reckoned it more his honour to be a scribe of God's law than to be a peer or prince of the empire.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Artaxerxes, king of kings,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The title, “king of kings,” is assumed by almost all the persian monarchs in their inscriptions. Perfect peace - “Peace” is not in the original, and the word translated “perfect” occurs only in this place. Some prefer to take it as an adjective descriptive of Ezra (see margin); others (Septuagint) as the opening word of the first paragraph of the letter, and give it the meaning, “it is completed.”
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
An order is issued by me The authorization emanates from me that whoever of Israel, of the priests, or of the Levites, whose heart prompts him to go to Jerusalem, may go with you.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַ֨רְתַּחְשַׁ֔סְתְּא | ʾartachshast' | Artaxerxes | H783 → | 15 times |
| מֶ֖לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4430 → | 180 times |
| מַלְכַיָּ֑א | malkhaiya' | <the> kings | H4430 → | 180 times |
| לְעֶזְרָ֣א | leezra' | to Ezra | H5831 → | 3 times |
| כָ֠הֲנָא | khahana' | priest the | H3549 → | 8 times |
| סָפַ֨ר | safar | [the] scribe of | H5613 → | 8 times |
| דָּתָ֜א | data' | law the | H1882 → | 14 times |
| דִּֽי־ | di- | of | H1768 → | 345 times |
| אֱלָ֧הּ | ʾelah | [the] God of | H426 → | 95 times |
| שְׁמַיָּ֛א | shemaiya' | heavens the | H8065 → | 38 times |
| גְּמִ֖יר | gemir | perfect | H1585 → | |
| וּכְעֶֽנֶת׃ | ukheenet | and now | H3706 → | 4 times |
אַ֨רְתַּחְשַׁ֔סְתְּאArtaxerxes
ʾartachshast'H783 →15 times
מֶ֖לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4430 →180 times
מַלְכַיָּ֑א<the> kings
malkhaiya'H4430 →180 times
לְעֶזְרָ֣אto Ezra
leezra'H5831 →3 times
כָ֠הֲנָאpriest the
khahana'H3549 →8 times
סָפַ֨ר[the] scribe of
safarH5613 →8 times
דָּתָ֜אlaw the
data'H1882 →14 times
דִּֽי־of
di-H1768 →345 times
אֱלָ֧הּ[the] God of
ʾelahH426 →95 times
שְׁמַיָּ֛אheavens the
shemaiya'H8065 →38 times
גְּמִ֖ירperfect
gemirH1585 →
וּכְעֶֽנֶת׃and now
ukheenetH3706 →4 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 19:16And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
it leads to
- Revelation 17:14
They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen…
- 1 Timothy 6:15
which the blessed and only Sovereign One—the King of kings and Lord of lords—will bring about in His own time.
- 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.”
- Philippians 2:9–11
Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names,
- Revelation 19:12–13
He has eyes like blazing fire, and many royal crowns on His head. He has a name written on Him that only He Himself knows.
- Revelation 17:14
Through
Ezekiel 26:7For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with cavalry and a great company…
it leads to
- Daniel 2:37
You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.
- Ezekiel 23:24
They will come against you with a host of peoples, with weapons, chariots, and wagons. They will array themselves against you on every side with buckler and shield and helmet. I will delegate judgment…
- Daniel 2:37
Through
Daniel 2:37You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 26:7
For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with cavalry and a great company…
- Ezekiel 26:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this chapter
About Ezra
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; Berean Standard Bible, Ezra 7; Berean Standard Bible, Ezra 1; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.