Bible Strands
Ezra 7:26
If anyone does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let a strict judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The text records a royal decree directed to Ezra and his appointed magistrates, establishing judicial authority to enforce compliance with religious and civil statutes.
The words — דָּתָא (da.Ta') = law or decree, and לֶהֱוֵא (le.he.Ve') = he will be, which together frame the conditional structure linking disobedience to inevitable judicial action.
The thread — This enforcement model echoes the penalty structure of Ezra 6:11, while the dual obligation to divine and royal law intersects with the covenantal warnings of Deuteronomy 13:1 and Leviticus 20:1.
Why it lands — The verse requires recognition that civil authority is tasked with upholding divine standards, and it places the reader under the explicit warning that neglecting established law carries severe, non-negotiable consequences.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.
Cross-references
- Ezra 6:11 I also decree that if any man interferes with this directive, a beam is to be torn from his house and raised up, and he is to be impaled on it. And his own house shall be made a pile of rubble for this offense.
- Deuteronomy 13:1 If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,
- Leviticus 20:1 Then the LORD said to Moses,
- Exodus 21:1 “These are the ordinances that you are to set before them:
- Daniel 6:26 I hereby decree that in every part of my kingdom, men are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel: For He is the living God, and He endures forever; His kingdom will never be destroyed, and His dominion will never end.
- 2 Chronicles 30:12 Moreover, the power of God was on the people in Judah to give them one heart to obey the command of the king and his officials according to the word of the LORD.
- Psalms 52:5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin; He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
- Daniel 3:28 Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.