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in order to look into matters in Judea and Jerusalem, in accordance with what is in the law of the Lord,
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and to carry to Jerusalem the gifts for the Lord of Israel which I and my friends have vowed, and to collect for the Lord in Jerusalem all the gold and silver that may be found in the country of Babylonia,
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together with what is given by the nation for the temple of their Lord which is in Jerusalem, both gold and silver for bulls and rams and lambs and what goes with them,
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so as to offer sacrifices upon the altar of their Lord which is in Jerusalem.
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And whatever you and your brethren are minded to do with the gold and silver, perform it in accordance with the will of your God;
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and deliver the holy vessels of the Lord which are given you for the use of the temple of your God which is in Jerusalem.
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And whatever else occurs to you as necessary for the temple of your God, you may provide out of the royal treasury.
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"And I, Artaxerxes the king, have commanded the treasurers of Syria and Phoenicia that whatever Ezra the priest and reader of the law of the Most High God sends for, they shall take care to give him,
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up to a hundred talents of silver, and likewise up to a hundred cors of wheat, a hundred baths of wine, and salt in abundance.
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Let all things prescribed in the law of God be scrupulously fulfilled for the Most High God, so that wrath may not come upon the kingdom of the king and his sons.
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You are also informed that no tribute or any other tax is to be laid on any of the priests or Levites or temple singers or gatekeepers or temple servants or persons employed in this temple, and that no one has authority to impose any tax upon them.