So here is what I, Ezra, say to you people of Israel. “Give praise to the Lord. He is the God of our people who lived long ago. He has put it in the king’s heart to bring honor to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem. The king has honored the Lord in his letter.
Then at night I took a few other people with me to check out the walls. I hadn’t told anyone what my God wanted me to do for Jerusalem. There weren’t any donkeys with me except the one I was riding on.
I will make a covenant with them that will last forever. I promise that I will never stop doing good to them. I will cause them to respect me. Then they will never turn away from me again.
So even though I wrote to you, it wasn’t because of the one who did the wrong. It wasn’t because of the one who was hurt either. Instead, I wrote you so that in the sight of God you could see for yourselves how faithful you are to us.
We were comforted not only when he came but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us how much you longed for me. He told us about your deep sadness and concern for me. That made my joy greater than ever.
God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose. So they agreed to give the beast their royal authority. They will give him this authority until God’s words come true.