¹⁰ for Ezra hath prepared his heart to seek the law of Jehovah, and to do, and to teach in Israel statute and judgment.

²⁵ `And thou, Ezra, according to the wisdom of thy God, that `is' in thy hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may be judges to all the people who are beyond the river, to all knowing the law of thy God, and he who hath not known ye cause to know;

¹⁰ They teach Thy judgments to Jacob, And Thy law to Israel; They put perfume in Thy nose, And whole burnt-offering on Thine altar.

¹⁷ if these things ye have known, happy are ye, if ye may do them;

²⁴ `Therefore, every one who doth hear of me these words, and doth do them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house upon the rock;

¹⁷ The desire of the humble Thou hast heard, O Jehovah. Thou preparest their heart; Thou causest Thine ear to attend,

¹⁸ `O Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this to the age for the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of Thy people, and prepare their heart unto Thee;

¹⁴ and he doth the evil thing, for he hath not prepared his heart to seek Jehovah.

²² And Hezekiah speaketh unto the heart of all the Levites, those giving good understanding concerning Jehovah, and they eat the appointed thing seven days; sacrificing sacrifices of peace-offerings, and making confession to Jehovah, God of their fathers.

² But -- in the law of Jehovah `is' his delight, And in His law he doth meditate by day and by night:

⁷ The law of Jehovah `is' perfect, refreshing the soul, The testimonies of Jehovah `are' stedfast, Making wise the simple,

⁹⁶ Of all perfection I have seen an end, Broad `is' Thy command -- exceedingly!

⁹⁷ `Mem.' O how I have loved Thy law! All the day it `is' my meditation.

⁹⁸ Than mine enemies Thy command maketh me wiser, For it `is' before me to the age.

⁹⁹ Above all my teachers I have acted wisely. For Thy testimonies `are' my meditation.

¹⁰⁰ Above elders I understand more, For Thy precepts I have kept.

⁷ For the lips of a priest preserve knowledge, And law they do seek from his mouth, For a messenger of Jehovah of Hosts he `is'.

² preach the word; be earnest in season, out of season, convict, rebuke, exhort, in all long-suffering and teaching,

¹⁵ these things be speaking, and exhorting, and convicting, with all charge; let no one despise thee!

¹ And thou -- be speaking what doth become the sound teaching;

¹² and thou hast remembered that a servant thou hast been in Egypt, and hast observed and done these statutes.

³ And Samuel speaketh unto all the house of Israel, saying, `If with all your heart ye are turning back unto Jehovah -- turn aside the gods of the stranger from your midst, and Ashtaroth; and prepare your heart unto Jehovah, and serve Him only, and He doth deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.'

⁸ and with them the Levites, Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijath, and Tob-Adonijah, the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests.

⁹ And they teach in Judah, and with them `is' the Book of the Law of Jehovah, and they go round about into all cities of Judah, and teach among the people.

³ but good things have been found with thee, for thou hast put away the shrines out of the land, and hast prepared thy heart to seek God.'

⁶ Ezra himself hath come up from Babylon, and he `is' a scribe ready in the law of Moses, that Jehovah God of Israel gave, and the king giveth to him -- according to the hand of Jehovah his God upon him -- all his request.

¹ And all the people are gathered as one man unto the broad place that `is' before the water-gate, and they say to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, that Jehovah commanded Israel.

² And Ezra the priest bringeth the law before the assembly, both of men and women, and every one intelligent to hear, on the first day of the seventh month,

³ and he readeth in it before the broad place that `is' before the water-gate, from the light till the middle of the day, over-against the men, and the women, and those intelligent, and the ears of all the people `are' unto the book of the law.

⁴ And Ezra the scribe standeth on a tower of wood that they made for the purpose, and Mattithiah standeth near him, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right; and on his left Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchijah, and Hashum, and Hashbaddana, Zechariah, Meshullam.

⁵ And Ezra openeth the book before the eyes of all the people -- for above all the people he hath been -- and at his opening `it' all the people have stood up,

⁶ and Ezra blesseth Jehovah, the great God, and all the people answer, `Amen, Amen,' with lifting up of their hands, and they bow and do obeisance to Jehovah -- faces to the earth.

⁷ And Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, giving the people understanding in the law, and the people, `are' on their station,

⁸ and they read in the book, in the law of God, explaining -- so as to give the meaning, and they give understanding to the convocation.

⁹ And Nehemiah -- he `is' the Tirshatha -- saith (and Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Levites who are instructing the people) to all the people, `To-day is holy to Jehovah your God, do not mourn, nor weep:' for all the people are weeping at their hearing the words of the law.

¹³ If thou -- thou hast prepared thy heart, And hast spread out unto Him thy hands,

⁷ Prepared is my heart, O God, Prepared is my heart, I sing and praise.

⁴⁵ And I walk habitually in a broad place, For Thy precepts I have sought.

¹⁹ `Whoever therefore may loose one of these commands -- the least -- and may teach men so, least he shall be called in the reign of the heavens, but whoever may do and may teach `them', he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens.

¹ The former account, indeed, I made concerning all things, O Theophilus, that Jesus began both to do and to teach,

² it behoveth, therefore, the overseer to be blameless, of one wife a husband, vigilant, sober, decent, a friend of strangers, apt to teach,

¹⁴ `Happy are those doing His commands that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of the life, and by the gates they may enter into the city;