Ezra 7:10

7:10 Now Ezra had dedicated himself ¹  to the study of the law of the Lord, to its observance, and to teaching ²  its statutes and judgments in Israel.

Ezra 7:25

7:25 “Now you, Ezra, in keeping with the wisdom of your God which you possess, ³  appoint judges ⁴  and court officials who can arbitrate cases on behalf of all the people who are in Trans-Euphrates who know the laws of your God. Those who do not know this law should be taught.

Ezra 8:16

8:16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, ⁵  Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, and Joiarib and Elnathan, who were teachers.

Ezra 7:11-12

Artaxerxes Gives Official Endorsement to Ezra’s Mission

7:11 What follows ⁶  is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priestly scribe. ⁷  Ezra was ⁸  a scribe in matters pertaining to the commandments of the Lord and his statutes over Israel:

7:12 ⁹ “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the perfect law of the God of heaven:

Ezra 7:21

7:21 “I, King Artaxerxes, hereby issue orders to all the treasurers of ¹⁰  Trans-Euphrates, that you precisely execute all that Ezra the priestly scribe of the law of the God of heaven may request of you –

[7:10]  ¹ tn Heb “established his heart.”

[7:10]  ² tn Heb “to do and to teach.” The expression may be a hendiadys, in which case it would have the sense of “effectively teaching.”

[7:25]  ³ tn Aram “in your hand.”

[7:25]  ⁴ tc For the MT reading שָׁפְטִין (shoftim, “judges”) the LXX uses the noun γραμματεῖς (grammatei", “scribes”).

[8:16]  ⁵ tc The name “Elnathan” occurs twice in this list. Some, assuming an accidental repetition, would include it only once (cf. NAB).

[7:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “this.”

[7:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.” So also in v. 21.

[7:11]  ⁸ tn The words “Ezra was” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[7:12]  ⁹ sn Ezra 7:12-26 is written in Aramaic rather than Hebrew.

[7:21]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “who are in.”