Newton Aduaka tells the story of Ezra

Ezra, thirty years into the Babylonian Exile (4 Ezra 3 1 2 Esdras 1 1), recounts the siege of Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon's Temple.

Ezra came to Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the King .

The Book of Ezra describes how he led a group of Judean exiles living in Babylon to their home city of Jerusalem (Ezra 8.2 14) where he is said to have enforced observance of the Torah.

459 BC Ezra leads the second body of Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem.

For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of Yahweh, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances.

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.

A few parts of the Book of Ezra (4 8 to 6 18 and 7 12 26) were written in Aramaic, and the majority in Hebrew, Ezra himself being skilled in both languages.

Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect and so forth.

Then Ezra arose, and made the chiefs of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. So they swore.

Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time.

Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware.

The poet Ezra Pound (1885 1972) was born in Idaho but spent much of his adult life in Europe.

Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,

Ezra the priest stood up, and said to them, You have trespassed, and have married foreign women, to increase the guilt of Israel.

And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel.

Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people (for he was above all the people ) and when he opened it, all the people stood up

On the second day were gathered together the heads of fathers' households of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, to Ezra the scribe, even to give attention to the words of the law.

And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people (for he was above all the people ) and when he opened it, all the people stood up

And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law.

Filmmaker Newton Aduaka shows clips from his powerful, lyrical feature film Ezra, about a child soldier in Sierra Leone.

Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women, and all who could hear with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month.

and Ezra blessed Yahweh, the great God. All the people answered, Amen, Amen, with the lifting up of their hands. They bowed their heads, and worshiped Yahweh with their faces to the ground.

And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.

And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

There are also similarities between Ezra the priest scribe (but not high priest) and Nehemiah the secular governor on the one hand and Joshua and Zerubbabel on the other hand.

The panel was chaired by Jaime Moncayo, Permanent Representative of Ecuador and Vice President of the Council, and moderated by Ezra Suruma, Minister for Finance, Planning and Economic Development of Uganda.

These difficulties have led many scholars to assume that Ezra arrived in the seventh year of the rule of Artaxerxes II, i.e.

this Ezra went up from Babylon and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which Yahweh, the God of Israel, had given and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of Yahweh his God on him.

The children of the captivity did so. Ezra the priest, with certain heads of fathers' households, after their fathers' houses, and all of them by their names, were set apart and they sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.

This Ezra went up from Babylon and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.

And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.

I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers who are beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done with all diligence,

Now while Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before God's house, there was gathered together to him out of Israel a very great assembly of men and women and children for the people wept very bitterly.

And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily,

Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children for the people wept very sore.

Photo by Ezra Acayan, Copyright Demotix (7 14 2013)A fisherman at work on the polluted waters of Manila Bay against the backdrop of the Manila skyline.

You, Ezra, after the wisdom of your God who is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges, who may judge all the people who are beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God and teach him who doesn't know them.

Ezra the scribe stood on a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Uriah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchijah, and Hashum, and Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God and teach ye them that know them not.

And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

Then Ezra rose up from before God's house, and went into the room of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib and when he came there, he ate no bread, nor drank water for he mourned because of their trespass of the captivity.

Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.

Gosta W. Ahlstrom argues the inconsistencies of the biblical tradition are insufficient to say that Ezra, with his central position as the 'father of Judaism' in the Jewish tradition, has been a later literary invention.

As Ezra Vogel notes in Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China, Deng s first public statement after his political rehabilitation in 1976 was, Marxism Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought constitute the guiding ideology of the party.