Ezra 7:21 (ASV)

Passage

And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers that 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 with all diligence,

Nearby Context

Ezra 7:19 And the vessels that are given thee for the service of the house of thy God, deliver thou before the God of Jerusalem.

Ezra 7:20 And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king`s treasure-house.

Ezra 7:21 And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers that 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 with all diligence,

Ezra 7:22 unto a hundred talents of silver, and to a hundred measures of wheat, and to a hundred baths of wine, and to a hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much.

Ezra 7:23 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?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "even", "artaxerxes", "king", "make", "decree", "treasurers", "beyond", and "river". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "even" and "artaxerxes", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "And whatsoever more shall be needful for..." into verse 22's "unto a hundred talents of silver and...", so "even" and "artaxerxes" belong inside that flow. In Ezra context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "even" and "artaxerxes" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.