What Does Ezra 7:21 Mean?
And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, set a decree to all the treasurers across the river, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the instruction of the God of heaven, seeks of you, let it be done speedily.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily,THE KEY
The king’s decree turns Ezra’s asking into assigned service, so the request already carries a path to provision.
THE MEANING
The verse speaks to the moment a need is named: support can move through other people and material resources. The request becomes concrete work that the treasurers are charged to complete promptly.
THE ROOT
יִתְעֲבֵד
yitʿaved
GROWS FROM
עבד
To work or do; in the related Hebrew usage, to serve.
The word rendered “done” grows from the root עבד, which also carries the sense of service. The decree makes fulfilling the request a task for the treasurers: their work becomes service that brings provision into reach.
ALSO GROWS
avad: Serve, work.
עָבַד
This branch shows that the work of fulfilling a request can itself be service.
eved: Servant.
עֶבֶד
The same root names the person who serves, linking the completed task to the people who carry it out.
avodah: Work, service.
עֲבֹדָה
This branch makes the request tangible: it becomes labor assigned to be done.
יִשְׁאֵלְכֹן
yishʾelkhon
GROWS FROM
שאל
To ask, inquire, or request.
“seeks” in this verse is yishʾelkhon. The root describes Ezra asking the treasurers for what he needs. The decree joins that request to an order for action, carrying the asking forward into provision.
ALSO GROWS
shaʾal: Ask, inquire, request.
שָׁאַל
This verb names the act Ezra is authorized to do: ask the treasurers for what is needed.
sheʾelah: Request, question.
שְׁאֵלָה
This related form names what is asked, keeping the focus on a stated need that can receive a response.
THE PATTERN
A voiced need moves into the world when authority turns hearing into delegated action.
Then you shall call, and the LORD shall answer; you shall cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the stretching of the finger, and speaking emptiness.Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done diligently for the house of the God of heaven, for why should there be burning against the realm of the king and his sons?I tell you that he will set them straight swiftly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find anyone leaning their full weight on the ground?THE THREAD
Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done diligently for the house of the God of heaven, for why should there be burning against the realm of the king and his sons?The word rendered “done” in both verses comes from עבד, the root of work and service. Ezra 7:23 extends the connection: carrying out the command becomes service directed toward the house of God.
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