Add parallel Print Page Options

Cyrus sends the Jews back to Jerusalem

In the first year that Cyrus, king of Persia, was ruling Babylon, the Lord put a thought in his mind.[a] King Cyrus decided to send a message to everybody who lived in his kingdom. His message would cause what God had already spoken to his prophet Jeremiah to become true.[b] The message was written down and people took it all over Cyrus's kingdom. It said:

‘This is what Cyrus, the king of Persia says:

The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me power over all the kingdoms of the earth. He has said that I must build a temple for him in Jerusalem, the city that is in Judah.[c]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 When we write Lord like this, it is a special name for God. Sometimes people write it as ‘Yahweh’, or as ‘Jehovah’. It is his own name that he told Moses. See Exodus 3:14. It means ‘I am who I am’. This shows that God has always been there and he always will be there.
  2. 1:1 See Jeremiah 29:10
  3. 1:2 Judah was the most important Israelite tribe.

Cyrus Helps the Exiles to Return(A)

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah,(B) the Lord moved the heart(C) of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:

“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:

“‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed(D) me to build(E) a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah.

Read full chapter