Ezra

A priest, scribe, and scholar who helped his people start worshipping God again. Ezra had been in exile in Babylon. There, scribes like Ezra who knew how to read and write Hebrew made copies of the Old Testament by hand for use in worship.

Ezra was an adviser to the king about the Jews and their religion. He asked the king for permission to return to Judah so he could teach God’s Law there. The king approved and also gave him authority to appoint judges to enforce the Jewish laws.

Ezra returned with about five thousand others. He found that many of the people who lived in Judah were not keeping God’s commands. He wept in sorrow. Ezra began offering sacrifices to the Lord at the temple. He gathered the people of the land, read the law of Moses to them, and encouraged them to obey God and keep the required feasts.