Ezra 7:11-12

Artaxerxes Gives Official Endorsement to Ezra’s Mission

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:

7:12 ⁴ “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the perfect law of the God of heaven:

Ezra 7:21

7:21 “I, King Artaxerxes, hereby issue orders to all the treasurers of ⁵  Trans-Euphrates, that you precisely execute all that Ezra the priestly scribe of the law of the God of heaven may request of you –

Psalms 45:1

Psalm 45 ⁶ 

For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” ⁷  by the Korahites, a well-written poem, ⁸  a love song.

45:1 My heart is stirred by a beautiful song. ⁹ 

I say, “I have composed this special song ¹⁰  for the king;

my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.” ¹¹ 

Matthew 13:52

13:52 Then he said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law ¹²  who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old.”

[7:11]  ¹ tn Heb “this.”

[7:11]  ² tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.” So also in v. 21.

[7:11]  ³ tn The words “Ezra was” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[7:12]  ⁴ sn Ezra 7:12-26 is written in Aramaic rather than Hebrew.

[7:21]  ⁵ tn Aram “who are in.”

[45:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 45. This is a romantic poem celebrating the Davidic king’s marriage to a lovely princess. The psalmist praises the king for his military prowess and commitment to justice, urges the bride to be loyal to the king, and anticipates that the marriage will be blessed with royal offspring.

[45:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “according to lilies.” “Lilies” may be a tune title or musical style, suggestive of romantic love. The imagery of a “lily” appears frequently in the Song of Solomon in a variety of contexts (see 2:1-2, 16; 4:5; 5:13; 6:2-3; 7:2).

[45:1]  ⁸ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 42.

[45:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “[with] a good word.” The “good word” probably refers here to the song that follows.

[45:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my works [are] for a king.” The plural “works” may here indicate degree, referring to the special musical composition that follows.

[45:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “my tongue [is] a stylus of a skillful scribe.” Words flow from the psalmist’s tongue just as they do from a scribe’s stylus.

[13:52]  ¹² tn Or “every scribe.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4. It is possible that the term translated “expert in the law” (traditionally, “scribe”) here is a self-description used by the author, Matthew, to represent his role in conveying the traditions about Jesus to his intended audience. See David E. Orton, The Understanding Scribe [JSNTSup].