Ezra 7:26 (LSB)

Passage

Whoever will not do the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be done to him with all diligence, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of goods or for imprisonment.”

Nearby Context

Ezra 7:24 We also make known to you that it is not allowed to impose tribute, custom, or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

Ezra 7:25 “And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God which is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges that they may judge all the people who are in the province beyond the River, even all those who know the laws of your God; and to anyone who does not know the laws, you shall make them known.

Ezra 7:26 Whoever will not do the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be done to him with all diligence, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of goods or for imprisonment.”

Ezra 7:27 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of Yahweh which is in Jerusalem,

Ezra 7:28 and has extended lovingkindness to me before the king and his counselors and before all the king’s mighty princes. Thus I was strengthened according to the hand of Yahweh my God upon me, and I gathered chief men from Israel to go up with me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whoever", "king", "judgment", "done", "diligence", "whether", "death", and "banishment". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whoever" and "king", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 25's "And you Ezra according to the wisdom..." into verse 27's "Blessed be Yahweh the God of our...", so "whoever" 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 "whoever" and "king" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.