3. son of Amariah son of Azariah son of Meraioth
4. son of Zerahiah son of Uzzi son of Bukki
5. son of Abishua son of Phinehas son of Eleazar son of Aaron the chief priest—
6. this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the Instruction from Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. Moreover, the king gave him everything he requested because the Lord his God’s power was with him.
7. Some of the Israelites and some of the priests and the Levites, the singers and gatekeepers and the temple servants also came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.
8. They reached Jerusalem in the fifth month, in the seventh year of the king.
9. The journey from Babylon began on the first day of the first month, and they came to Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was upon him.
10. Ezra had determined to study and perform the Lord’s Instruction, and to teach law and justice in Israel.
11. This is a copy of the letter that Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest and scribe, a scholar of the text of the Lord’s commandments and his requirements for Israel:
12. Artaxerxes, king of kings,to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Instruction from the God of heaven.Peace!And now
13. I decree that any of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom who volunteer to go to Jerusalem with you may go.