Ezra 7:23
in Ezra 7Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven must be done diligently for His house. For why should wrath fall on the realm of the king and his sons?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done exactly for the house of the God of heaven; for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?
KJV
Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?
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This verse in Ezra 7
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWhy should there be wrath - As he believed he was appointed by the Almighty to do this work, he therefore wished to do it heartily, knowing that if he did not, God would be displeased, and that the kingdom would be cut off from him or his posterity.
This site's exposition
I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers
on Ezra 7:21-24
Artaxerxes repeats his decree, now to all the treasurers west of the Euphrates. He asks why wrath should fall on the king and his sons. The priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers and temple servants are exempt from tribute, duty or toll, and Adam Clarke notes they held no private revenue.
This site's exposition
Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven
Clarke reads the king as believing God had appointed him to this work, and fearing that the kingdom would be cut off from him. The decree of 6:10 asked the priests to pray for the king and his sons as well. Both decrees name the king's sons.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven,.... In the law given by Moses to the people of Israel: let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven; for the service of it, particularly sacrifices: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons? through the neglect of the service of God in the temple, and by reason of the default of the king's treasurers.
How solicitously he deprecates the wrath of God: Why should there be wrath against the realm? The neglect and contempt of religion bring the judgments of God upon kings and kingdoms; and the likeliest expedient to turn away his wrath, when it is ready to break out against a people, is to support and encourage religion.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
And, finally, in the expression of the king's desire for the divine blessing upon the king and his government (Ezr 7:23), we see the strong persuasion which pervaded the Persian court, and had been produced by the captivity of the Hebrew people, as to the being and directing providence of the God they worshipped.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Literally, as in the margin, i. e., Whatsoever is commanded in the Law with respect to the temple service.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3606 → | 82 times |
| דִּ֗י | di | that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| מִן־ | min- | [is] according to | H4481 → | 109 times |
| טַ֙עַם֙ | taam | [the] decree of | H2942 → | 28 times |
| אֱלָ֣הּ | ʾelah | [the] God of | H426 → | 95 times |
| שְׁמַיָּ֔א | shemaiya' | heavens the | H8065 → | 38 times |
| יִתְעֲבֵד֙ | yitaved | let it be done | H5648 → | 28 times |
| אַדְרַזְדָּ֔א | ʾadrazda' | exactly | H149 → | |
| לְבֵ֖ית | leveit | for [the] house of | H1005 → | 44 times |
| אֱלָ֣הּ | ʾelah | [the] God of | H426 → | 95 times |
| שְׁמַיָּ֑א | shemaiya' | heavens the | H8065 → | 38 times |
| דִּֽי־ | di- | that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| לְמָ֤ה | lemah | <to> why? | H4101 → | 13 times |
| לֶֽהֱוֵא֙ | leheve' | will it be | H1934 → | 71 times |
| קְצַ֔ף | ketzaf | anger | H7109 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5922 → | 104 times |
| מַלְכ֥וּת | malkhut | [the] kingdom of | H4437 → | 57 times |
| מַלְכָּ֖א | malka' | king the | H4430 → | 180 times |
| וּבְנֽוֹהִי׃ | uvenohi | and sons his | H1247 → | 19 times |
כָּל־all
kol-H3606 →82 times
דִּ֗יthat
diH1768 →345 times
מִן־[is] according to
min-H4481 →109 times
טַ֙עַם֙[the] decree of
taamH2942 →28 times
אֱלָ֣הּ[the] God of
ʾelahH426 →95 times
שְׁמַיָּ֔אheavens the
shemaiya'H8065 →38 times
יִתְעֲבֵד֙let it be done
yitavedH5648 →28 times
אַדְרַזְדָּ֔אexactly
ʾadrazda'H149 →
לְבֵ֖יתfor [the] house of
leveitH1005 →44 times
אֱלָ֣הּ[the] God of
ʾelahH426 →95 times
שְׁמַיָּ֑אheavens the
shemaiya'H8065 →38 times
דִּֽי־that
di-H1768 →345 times
לְמָ֤ה<to> why?
lemahH4101 →13 times
לֶֽהֱוֵא֙will it be
leheve'H1934 →71 times
קְצַ֔ףanger
ketzafH7109 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5922 →104 times
מַלְכ֥וּת[the] kingdom of
malkhutH4437 →57 times
מַלְכָּ֖אking the
malka'H4430 →180 times
וּבְנֽוֹהִי׃and sons his
uvenohiH1247 →19 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
Psalms 119:4You have ordained Your precepts, that we should keep them diligently.
it leads to
- 1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,
- John 14:21
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
- Matthew 28:20
and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
- Jeremiah 7:23
but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must walk in all the ways I have commanded you, so that…
- Deuteronomy 28:1–14
“Now if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God and are careful to follow all His commandments I am giving you today, the LORD your God will set you high above…
- 1 John 5:3
Through
Zechariah 12:3On that day, when all the nations of the earth gather against her, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who would heave it away will be severely injured.
it leads to
- Matthew 21:44
He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
- Zechariah 14:2–4
For I will gather all the nations for battle against Jerusalem, and the city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women ravished. Half of the city will go into exile, but the…
- Daniel 2:34–35
As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them.
- Matthew 21:44
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
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About Ezra

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Berean Standard Bible, Ezra 6; 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.
