And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.
Anyone who refuses to follow God's law and the king's law must be punished quickly—whether by death, being sent away from the land, having their property taken away, or being put in prison.
This verse establishes that both God's laws and the king's laws must be obeyed, with swift punishment for those who refuse to follow them.
📚 Historical Context
This decree was issued by Persian King Artaxerxes around 458 BC, giving Ezra authority to enforce Jewish religious law among the returned exiles in Jerusalem. The Persian Empire allowed local populations to follow their own religious customs while maintaining loyalty to the crown. This represented unusual governmental support for religious law enforcement in the post-exile period.
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