and whereas all the silver and gold that you may find in all the province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and the priests, are to be freely offered for the house of their God in Jerusalem—
Parallel translations
- WEB and all the silver and gold that you will find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem;
- KJV And all the silver and gold that thou canst find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem:
- BSB together with all the silver and gold you may find in all the province of Babylon, as well as the freewill offerings of the people and priests to the house of their God in Jerusalem.
- NASB with all the silver and gold which you find in the entire province of Babylon, along with the voluntary offering of the people and of the priests, who offered willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem;
- NLT “Furthermore, you are to take any silver and gold that you may obtain from the province of Babylon, as well as the voluntary offerings of the people and the priests that are presented for the Temple of their God in Jerusalem.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Ezra may also gather silver, gold, and freewill offerings from throughout Babylon for God's house. Both rulers and people contribute willingly to God's work.
Overview
Beyond the royal gift, Ezra is authorized to collect offerings from the province and from the Jewish people and priests, all given 'willingly' for the temple in Jerusalem. The repeated stress on willing generosity echoes the spirit God desires in giving (2 Corinthians 9:7). The combined offering reflects a community and empire moved to support the worship of God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Chr 29:6Then the princes of the fathers’ households, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers over the king’s work, offered willingly;
- Ezra 1:6All those who were around them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with animals, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered.
- Ezra 1:4Whoever is left, in any place where he lives, let the men of his place help him with silver, with gold, with goods, and with animals, besides the freewill offering for God’s house which is in Jerusalem.’”
- 1 Chr 29:9Then the people rejoiced, because they offered willingly, because with a perfect heart they offered willingly to Yahweh; and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.
- 2 Cor 8:12For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you don’t have.
- 1 Chr 29:17I know also, my God, that you try the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things. Now I have seen with joy your people, who are present here, offer willingly to you.
- 2 Cor 9:7Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart; not grudgingly, or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.
- Ezra 8:25–28and weighed to them the silver, the gold, and the vessels, even the offering for the house of our God, which the king, his counselors, his princes, and all Israel there present, had offered.
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Christ at the center
The return from exile and the rebuilt altar keep alive the hope of a greater restoration — the true return from our deeper exile of sin accomplished by Christ.
How Ezra 7:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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