Ezra 7:27

Ezra Praises the LORD

27 People of Israel, give praise to the Lord. He is the God of our people who lived long ago. He has put it in the king's heart to bring honor to the LORD's temple in Jerusalem. The king has honored the LORD in his letter.

Ezra 7:27 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 7:27

Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers
This is Ezra's thanksgiving to God for the above decree:

which hath put such a thing as this in the king's heart;
which he rightly took to be of God, who wrought in him to will and to do:

to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem;
to provide for the ornamenting of it, for vessels in it, as well as for sacrifices; for as for the building of it, that was finished.

Ezra 7:27 In-Context

25 Ezra, appoint judges and other court officials. When you do it, use the wisdom your God gives you. Those you appoint should do what is right and fair when they judge people. They should do it for everyone who lives west of the Euphrates. They should do it for everyone who knows the laws of your God. And I want you to teach the people who don't know those laws.

26 Anyone who doesn't obey the law of your God must be punished. The same thing applies to anyone who doesn't obey my law. The people must be punished in keeping with the laws they have broken. Some of them must be put to death. Others must be forced to leave the places where they live. Others must have their property taken away from them. Still others must be put in prison.

27 People of Israel, give praise to the Lord. He is the God of our people who lived long ago. He has put it in the king's heart to bring honor to the LORD's temple in Jerusalem. The king has honored the LORD in his letter.

28 The LORD has shown his good favor to me. He has caused the king and his advisers to show me their favor. In fact, all of the king's powerful officials have shown favor to me. The strong hand of the LORD my God helped me. That gave me new strength. So I gathered together leaders from Israel to go up to Jerusalem with me.