Ezra 7:25

Ezr 7:25 And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that [is] in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that [are] beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know [them] not.

Ver. 25. And thou, Ezra] Qui monet ut facias, who warned you to do this, &c.

After the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand] That is, in thine heart and life, Sapientia est vel codicibus vel cordibus. Wisdom is either from the books or the heart. Ezra had both these, being a thorough wise man.

All such as know the laws of thy God] Else how shall they see them duly executed? How shall they be as so many living laws, walking statuted? How shall they teach in the cities of Judah, as Jehoshaphat’s judges did, 2Ch 17:7; 2Ch 17:9, and as it followeth here, "And teach ye them that know them not"; how can the people perform their duty, which they are ignorant of?

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ezr 7:25. After the wisdom of thy God in thy hand — That is, which God hath put into thy heart, and which appears in the works of thy hand. Wisdom is sometimes ascribed to the hand, as Psa 78:72. Or, by the wisdom of God, he means the law of God, which was said to be in his hand, Ezr 7:14. Set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people, &c. — All the Jews on that side of the river. All such as know the laws of thy God — All that professed the Jewish religion were to be under the jurisdiction of these judges; which intimates that they were exempt from the jurisdiction of heathen magistrates. It was a great favour to the Jews to have such magistrates of themselves, and especially of Ezra’s nomination. And teach ye them that know them not — They were to instruct in the laws of God those that were ignorant of them, whether Jews or others, which implies that he had no objection to their making proselytes to the Jewish religion.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7:25-26 Ezra was to teach God’s laws and govern the area occupied by the Jews in accordance with God’s laws and the law of the king—i.e., Persian civil law.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

He gave Ezra full authority to restore all things according to the word of God, and to punish them that resisted, and would not obey.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(25) All such as know.—The firman, or king’s commission, returning directly to Ezra, makes him supreme in the province over the Jewish population.

And teach ye them that know them not.—That is, those Jews who had comparatively forsaken the law. Here he has absolute authority in religion.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25. Ezra again addressed, empowered to appoint judges for Jews in the country W. of the Euphrates and to inflict penalties for the violation of the law.

after the wisdom of God, that is in thine hand] cf. Ezr_7:14, ‘the law of by God which is in thy hand’. Law in its obligation, wisdom in its spirit.

magistrates and judges] The former is the same word as the ‘Judges’ (Shôphetim) of the book so called. The two words, if capable of distinction, represent administrative and judicial functions.

all such as know the laws of thy God] No authority save over those of Israelite race or Jewish religion. But this commission gave Ezra and the community at Jerusalem the right to exercise special powers over all countrymen in Syria, Phœnicia and Palestine.

and teach ye them that know them not] R.V. and teach ye him that knoweth them not. The injunction, expressed in the plural, seems to include the leaders of the Jews along with Ezra, with special reference to the ‘magistrates and judges’ to be appointed. The primary intention of this sentence is to ensure instruction in the Law for those Jews. Who by living among the heathen had grown to neglect or to forget the obligations of their religion. It does not amount to a command ‘to proselytize’, but would, no doubt, include the instruction of proselytes, and grant general permission to teach the Jewish religion.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers,.... This is Ezra's thanksgiving to God for the above decree:

which hath put such a thing as this in the king's heart; which he rightly took to be of God, who wrought in him to will and to do:

to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem; to provide for the ornamenting of it, for vessels in it, as well as for sacrifices; for as for the building of it, that was finished.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

River. 3 Esdras, "In all Syria and Phenicia." (Haydock) --- Hitherto, it seems, the royal judges had decided all affairs of consequence, which required any public chastisement.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The wisdom of thy God that is in thine hand, i.e. which God hath put into thy heart, and which appears in the works of thy hand. Wisdom is sometimes ascribed to the hands, as Psa 78:72. See my Latin Synopsis on Gen 48:14. Or, by the wisdom of God, he means the law of God, which was said to be in his hand, Ezr 7:14.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

25. Set magistrates and judges — Hereby Ezra was commissioned with authority to appoint all officers of the State. The fact indicates that the new community at Jerusalem had fallen into great irregularities.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And thou, Ezra. This conclusion would be by itself sufficient to remove the document out of the ordinary category of "decrees" or "edicts," and to render it, what it is called in ver. 11, nish-tevan, "a letter." After the wisdom of thy God, that is in thy hand. i.e. "that is in thy possession." Set magistrates and judges. Both the words used are derived from roots signifying "to judge," and it is difficult to draw any distinction between them. The one translated "magistrates" is that which gives its title to the Book of "Judges." Which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God. The latter clause is probably intended to be limitative of the former, and to consign to Ezra"s government only the Jewish portion of the population, in which, however, are to be reckoned the proselytes. (see comment on Ezr_6:21) And teach ye them that know them not. As the other inhabitants of Syria were not Zoroastrians, but idolaters, Ezra was given free permission to spread his religion among them.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The wisdom - Which God hath put into thy heart, and which appears in the works of thy hand. All that professed the Jewish religion, were to be under the jurisdiction of these Judges.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Connecting Statement:

This is the end of the decree that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra.

with the wisdom that God has given you, you must appoint judges and magistrates

The abstract noun "wisdom" can be expressed with a verbal phrase. AT: "God has made you wise, so you must wisely appoint judges and magistrates" (See: Abstract Nouns)

whether by death, banishment, confiscation of their goods, or imprisonment

The abstract nouns can be translated with verbs. AT: "whether by killing them, banishing them, confiscating their goods, or imprisoning them" or "You may kill them, send them away, take the things the own, or put them in prison" (See: Abstract Nouns)

translationWords

wise

God

appoint

judge, judges

magistrate

servant

law

punish

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God, which is in your hand and you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God, which is in your hand [and which is] greater than that of the judges and the magistrates who judge all the people beyond the river to the side of Israel, the people knowledgeable in the Torah.

and whoever does not know and the judge who does not know how to judge, inform him of the judgment that he should execute it.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.