7:11 What follows 1 is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priestly scribe. 2 Ezra was 3 a scribe in matters pertaining to the commandments of the Lord and his statutes over Israel:
4:8 Rehum the commander 4 and Shimshai the scribe 5 wrote a letter concerning 6 Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:
7:12 7 “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the perfect law of the God of heaven:
1 tn Heb “this.”
2 tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.” So also in v. 21.
3 tn The words “Ezra was” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Aram “lord of the command.” So also in vv. 9, 17.
5 sn Like Rehum, Shimshai was apparently a fairly high-ranking official charged with overseeing Persian interests in this part of the empire. His title was “scribe” or “secretary,” but in a more elevated political sense than that word sometimes has elsewhere. American governmental titles such as “Secretary of State” perhaps provide an analogy in that the word “secretary” can have a broad range of meaning.
6 tn Or perhaps “against.”
7 sn Ezra 7:12-26 is written in Aramaic rather than Hebrew.