Ezra 7:18
And whatsoever shall seem good to thee, and to thy brethren, to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do after the will of your God. And whatsoever shall seem good to thee, and to thy brethren, to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do after the will of your God.
The decree gave Ezra and his brethren freedom to use whatever silver and gold remained as seemed good to them, so long as it was done according to the will of their God. It was part of the decree issued by Artaxerxes in his seventh year, in 457 B.C., which continued and completed the work begun by Cyrus and carried forward by Darius as the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. That decree provides the starting point for the seventy weeks and for the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14, so that reckoned from 457 B.C. the appointed events fall in their proper time. The time was at first reckoned in the simplest way as 2300 minus 457 bringing the close in 1843, but since the decree went into effect in the autumn of 457 B.C. the period reaches to the fall of 1844.
Words and Historical Setting
The verse grants Ezra and his brethren, his fellow returnees and fellow leaders, discretion to use the remaining silver and gold as they judge good or best, provided they act according to the will of their God. It belongs to the account of the king placing abundant means in Ezra's hands for the rebuilding of the temple and enabling the Jews to return to their own country after seventy years of captivity in Babylon.
It shows Artaxerxes granting Ezra's request to return to Jerusalem to revive the study of God's word and help his brethren restore the holy city, bestowing on him rich gifts for the temple service, making him a special representative of the Medo-Persian kingdom, and conferring on him extensive powers for carrying out the purposes in his heart. The king did this because Ezra declared his perfect trust in the God of Israel as abundantly able to protect and care for His people, which deeply impressed the king, and because the king had great confidence in Ezra's integrity, even though he well understood that the Israelites were returning to serve Jehovah. It belongs to the decree Artaxerxes issued in 457 B.C. for the restoration of Jerusalem during the return of the Jews under Ezra.
Prophecy's Starting Point
The decree in which this verse stands was given by Artaxerxes to Ezra in the king's seventh year, continuing and completing the work begun by Cyrus and carried forward by Darius, and in its completed form it went forth in 457 B.C. and took effect in the autumn of that year as the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. Ezra 7 records that commandment to restore and build Jerusalem. Dating that completed decree to 457 B.C. makes the stated events of the prophecy align with its timeline.
That decree supplies the starting point for the seventy weeks and for the 2300 years, the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14. From that starting point the prophecy of the seventy weeks was fulfilled.
The period was first calculated as 2300 minus 457 leaving 1843 for its close, in so simple and plain a way that even children could understand it, and that year was looked to for the coming of the Lord. Because the decree was issued near the end of 457 B.C., the period reaches instead to the fall of 1844. So the vision had not failed or truly tarried.