For it was the king's commandment concerning them, that a certain portion should be for the singers, due for every day.
It was the king's commandment. It was the will of the Persian monarch in issuing his edict, that the temple service should be revived in all its religious fullness and solemnity; and as this special provision for the singers is said to have been by the king's commandment, the order was probably given at the request or sensation of Ezra or Nehemiah.