👉 And I, [even] I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers which [are] beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily,
Explanation: Okay, letās break down this verse from Ezra 7:21. Itās a really important and somewhat mysterious passage in the Bible. Here's what it means in simpler terms: The Basic Idea: This verse is about restoring order and rebuilding something that was lost or damaged. Itās essentially saying, āWe need to get this back on track.ā Letās unpack it piece by piece: āEzra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heavenā : This refers to a group of Jewish priests who were responsible for preserving and teaching the laws (rules) of God. They were incredibly important in the Old Testament. "do make a decree..." : Ezra is giving a command ā an official order. "...to all the treasurers which [are] beyond the river..." : This is where it gets a little tricky. āTreasuresā means places of wealth, resources, and possibly valuable things. āBeyond the riverā refers to the Jordan River, which was a significant boundary in ancient Israel. It suggests these treasures were outside of the city walls ā potentially a place that had been damaged or lost. "...that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you..." : This is the core instruction. Ezra is telling everyone who has anything (anything valuable) outside the city walls to immediately and quickly do what he says. What's happening? The message here is that something was damaged or lost in this area. Ezra needs to act swiftly and decisively to retrieve it. Itās a call for action, a command to restore order and recover something that has been lost. Important Context: This verse comes after a time of chaos and destruction. The Jewish people were facing a crisis, and Ezra was tasked with rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem. This verse shows that he needed to take immediate steps to rebuild and restore what was broken. In short: Ezra is giving instructions to quickly retrieve and restore valuable things that were outside the city walls. --- Do you want me to: Explain a specific part of the verse in more detail? Connect this verse to other stories or events in the Bible?