23
"And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of God, appoint judges and justices to judge all those who know the law of your God, throughout all Syria and Phoenicia; and those who do not know it you shall teach.
24
And all who transgress the law of your God or the law of the kingdom shall be strictly punished, whether by death or some other punishment, either fine or imprisonment."
25
Blessed be the Lord alone, who put this into the heart of the king, to glorify his house which is in Jerusalem,
26
and who honored me in the sight of the king and his counselors and all his friends and nobles.
27
I was encouraged by the help of the Lord my God, and I gathered men from Israel to go up with me.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.