Ezra was a priest and teacher of the Law. He was an educated man. He knew the Lord’ s commands and rules for Israel very well. Here is a copy of a letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra. It said,

祭司以斯拉是通达耶和华诫命和赐以色列之律例的文士。亚达薛西王赐给他们谕旨，上面写着说：

亚达薛西王赐给精通耶和华诫命和以色列律例的文士以斯拉祭司的谕旨，抄本如下：

亚达薛西王赐给精通耶和华诫命和以色列律例的文士以斯拉祭司的谕旨，抄本如下：

以斯拉是祭司和律法教师，精通耶和华赐给以色列的诫命和律例。亚达薛西王降旨给以斯拉，内容如下：

亚达薛西王颁发谕旨给以斯拉；以斯拉是一位祭司和经学家，精通耶和华的诫命和赐给以色列之律例；谕旨内容是这样：

祭司以斯拉是通達耶和華誡命和賜以色列之律例的文士。亞達薛西王賜給他們諭旨，上面寫着說：

亞達薛西王賜給精通耶和華誡命和以色列律例的文士以斯拉祭司的諭旨，抄本如下：

亞達薛西王賜給精通耶和華誡命和以色列律例的文士以斯拉祭司的諭旨，抄本如下：

以斯拉是祭司和律法教師，精通耶和華賜給以色列的誡命和律例。亞達薛西王降旨給以斯拉，內容如下：

亞達薛西王頒發諭旨給以斯拉；以斯拉是一位祭司和經學家，精通耶和華的誡命和賜給以色列之律例；諭旨內容是這樣：

祭司以斯拉是個經學士、精於永恆主誡命的話、和永恆主給以色列的律例。以下這一段是亞達薛西王寄給以斯拉的上諭本子：

祭司以斯拉為文士、明耶和華之誡命、及所賜以色列之典章、亞達薛西王降詔、其文曰、

耶和華以誡命法度賜於以色列族、選士祭司以士喇能洞明之、亞達泄西王乃頒以明詔、曰、

祭司以斯拉為文士、洞明主所諭以色列人之誡命、律例、亞達薛西王賜之以詔、其畧如左、

This is a copy of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law, a man learned in matters concerning the commands and decrees of the Lord for Israel:

This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes for Israel:

King Artaxerxes had given a copy of the following letter to Ezra, the priest and scribe who studied and taught the commands and decrees of the Lord to Israel:

This is the text of the letter King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest and scribe, an expert in matters of the LORD’s commands and statutes for Israel:

Now this is the copy of the letter which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, learned in the words of the commandments of the Lord and His statutes to Israel:

This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the scribe, expert in the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of His statutes to Israel:

Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even the scribe of the words of the commandments of Jehovah, and of his statutes to Israel:

This is the text of the letter King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest and scribe, an expert in matters of the Lord’s commands and statutes for Israel:

Now this[ is] the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe,[ even] a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel.

What follows is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priestly scribe. Ezra was a scribe in matters pertaining to the commandments of the LORD and his statutes over Israel:

Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, even the scribe of the words of Yahweh’s commandments, and of his statutes to Israel:

Here is a copy of the letter sent to King Darius. It was from Tattenai, the governor of the land west of the Euphrates. Shethar- Bozenai joined him in writing it. So did their friends. They were officials of that land.

“ How terrible it will be for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter. And you will not let those enter who are trying to.

The Pharisees gathered around Jesus. So did some of the teachers of the law. All of them had come from Jerusalem.They saw some of his disciples eating food with“ unclean” hands. That means they were not washed.The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands to make them“ clean.” That’s what the elders teach.When they come from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And they follow many other teachings. For example, they wash cups, pitchers, and kettles in a special way.So the Pharisees and the teachers of the law questioned Jesus.“ Why don’t your disciples live by what the elders teach?” they asked.“ Why do they eat their food with‘ unclean’ hands?”He replied,“ Isaiah was right. He prophesied about you people who pretend to be good. He said,“‘ These people honor me by what they say. But their hearts are far away from me.Their worship doesn’t mean anything to me. They teach nothing but human rules.’( Isaiah 29:13)You have let go of God’s commands. And you are holding on to teachings that people have made up.”Jesus continued speaking,“ You have a fine way of setting aside God’s commands! You do this so you can follow your own teachings.Moses said,‘ Honor your father and mother.’( Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16) He also said,‘ Anyone who asks for bad things to happen to their father or mother must be put to death.’( Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9)But you allow people to say that what might have been used to help their parents is Corban. Corban means A Gift Set Apart for God.So you no longer let them do anything for their parents.You make the word of God useless by putting your own teachings in its place. And you do many things like this.”

“ The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat,” he said.

So Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher who knew the Law of Moses very well. The Lord, the God of Israel, had given Israel that law. The king had given Ezra everything he asked for. That’s because the Lord his God helped him.

Here is a copy of the letter sent to Artaxerxes. We are sending this letter to you, King Artaxerxes. It is from your servants who live west of the Euphrates River.