Ezra 7:21 (DBY)

Passage

And I, I Artaxerxes the king, do give orders to all the treasurers that are beyond the river, that whatever Ezra the priest and scribe of the law of the God of the heavens shall require of you, it be done diligently,

Nearby Context

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

Ezra 7:20 And whatever 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, I Artaxerxes the king, do give orders to all the treasurers that are beyond the river, that whatever Ezra the priest and scribe of the law of the God of the heavens shall require of you, it be done diligently,

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 Whatever is commanded by the God of the heavens, let it be carefully done for the house of the God of the heavens; for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "And whatever more shall be needful for..." into verse 22's "unto a hundred talents of silver and...", so "artaxerxes" and "king" 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 "artaxerxes" and "king" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.