Ezra 7:13
in Ezra 7I hereby decree that any volunteers among the Israelites in my kingdom, including the priests and Levites, may go up with you to Jerusalem.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and their priests and the Levites, in my realm, that are minded of their own free will to go to Jerusalem, go with thee.
KJV
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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This verse in Ezra 7
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis 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
including the priests and Levites
The decree names priests and Levites among the volunteers. When the company mustered at the Ahava Canal, 8:15 records that Ezra found no Levites in it. He sent to Casiphia for them, and 8:18 to 20 lists those who came.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
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 …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
I make a decree,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
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.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Because of this Because of this, you are sent from the king and his seven advisors who saw the king’s face.
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
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִנִּי֮ | mini | from me | H4481 → | 109 times |
| שִׂ֣ים | sim | it is made | H7761 → | 26 times |
| טְעֵם֒ | teem | a decree | H2942 → | 28 times |
| דִּ֣י | di | that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | every | H3606 → | 82 times |
| מִתְנַדַּ֣ב | mitnadav | [one who] volunteers | H5069 → | 4 times |
| בְּמַלְכוּתִי֩ | bemalkhuti | in kingdom my | H4437 → | 57 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4481 → | 109 times |
| עַמָּ֨ה | ʾamah' | people the | H5972 → | 15 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל | yisrael | Israel | H3479 → | 8 times |
| וְכָהֲנ֣וֹהִי | vekhahanohi | and priests its | H3549 → | 8 times |
| וְלֵוָיֵ֗א | velevaye' | and Levites the | H3879 → | 4 times |
| לִמְהָ֧ךְ | limhakh | to go | H1946 → | 4 times |
| לִֽירוּשְׁלֶ֛ם | lirushelem | to Jerusalem | H3390 → | 26 times |
| עִמָּ֖ךְ | ʾimakh | with you | H5974 → | 22 times |
| יְהָֽךְ׃ | yehakh | he will go | H1946 → | 4 times |
מִנִּי֮from me
miniH4481 →109 times
שִׂ֣יםit is made
simH7761 →26 times
טְעֵם֒a decree
teemH2942 →28 times
דִּ֣יthat
diH1768 →345 times
כָל־every
khol-H3606 →82 times
מִתְנַדַּ֣ב[one who] volunteers
mitnadavH5069 →4 times
בְּמַלְכוּתִי֩in kingdom my
bemalkhutiH4437 →57 times
מִן־from
min-H4481 →109 times
עַמָּ֨הpeople the
ʾamah'H5972 →15 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֜לIsrael
yisraelH3479 →8 times
וְכָהֲנ֣וֹהִיand priests its
vekhahanohiH3549 →8 times
וְלֵוָיֵ֗אand Levites the
velevaye'H3879 →4 times
לִמְהָ֧ךְto go
limhakhH1946 →4 times
לִֽירוּשְׁלֶ֛םto Jerusalem
lirushelemH3390 →26 times
עִמָּ֖ךְwith you
ʾimakhH5974 →22 times
יְהָֽךְ׃he will go
yehakhH1946 →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
Philippians 2:13For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:21
equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Corinthians 3:5
Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
- 2 Timothy 1:9
He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.
- Romans 9:16
So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
- 1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of…
- Hebrews 13:21
Through
Psalms 110:3Your people shall be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, to You belongs the dew of Your youth.
it leads to
- Judges 5:2
“When the princes take the lead in Israel, when the people volunteer, bless the LORD.
- Titus 2:14
He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:7
For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness.
- Judges 5:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
On this chapter
About Ezra

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; Berean Standard Bible, Ezra 8; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).
