And all the silver and gold that thou canst find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem:
And all the silver and gold that you can find in all the province of Babylon, along with the voluntary gifts from the people and the priests who are willingly giving for the house of their God in Jerusalem:
This verse describes how King Artaxerxes authorized Ezra to collect both official funds and voluntary donations from the Jewish community to support the temple in Jerusalem.
📚 Historical Context
This verse is part of a royal decree from Persian King Artaxerxes I around 458 BC, authorizing Ezra to return to Jerusalem and restore proper worship. The Persian empire had a policy of supporting local religious practices in their territories, seeing it as a way to maintain stability. Many Jews had prospered during their exile in Babylon and were now able to contribute generously to rebuilding their homeland's temple.
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