Ezra

1 Cyrus sendeth again the people that was in captivity,  8 and restoreth them their holy vessels.

Now (A)in [a]the first year of Cyrus King of Persia (that the word of the LORD, spoken by the [b]mouth of Jeremiah, might be accomplished) the Lord stirred up the [c]spirit of Cyrus King of Persia, and he made a proclamation through all his kingdom, and also by writing, saying,

Thus saith Cyrus King of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me [d]all the kingdoms of the earth, and he hath commanded me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Who is he among you of all his people with whom his God is? let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel: he is the God, which is in Jerusalem.

And everyone that remaineth in any place (where he sojourneth) [e]let the men of his place relieve him with silver and with gold, and with substance, and with cattle, [f]and with a willing offering, for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.

Then the chief fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the Priests and the Levites rose up, with all them whose spirit God had raised to go up, to build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem.

And all [g]they that were about them, strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with substance and with cattle, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered.

Also the king Cyrus brought forth the vessels of the house of the Lord, (B)which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his god.

Even them did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them unto [h]Sheshbazzar the Prince of Judah.

And this is the number of them, thirty basins of gold, a thousand basins of silver, nine and twenty [i]knives,

10 Thirty bowls of gold, and of silver bowls of the second sort, four hundred and ten, and of other vessels, a thousand.

11 All the vessels of gold and silver were five thousand and four hundred. Sheshbazzar brought up all [j]with them of the captivity that came up from Babel to Jerusalem.

Footnotes

  1. Ezra 1:1 After that he and Darius had won Babylon.
  2. Ezra 1:1 Who promised them deliverance after that seventy years were past, Jer. 25:12.
  3. Ezra 1:1 That is, moved him, and gave him heart.
  4. Ezra 1:2 For he was chief Monarch, and had many nations under his dominion, which this heathen king confesseth to have received of the living God.
  5. Ezra 1:4 If any through poverty were not able to return, the king’s commission was that he should be furnished with necessaries.
  6. Ezra 1:4 Which they themselves should send toward the reparation of the Temple.
  7. Ezra 1:6 The Babylonians and Chaldeans gave them these presents: thus rather than the children of God should want for their necessities, he would stir up the heart of the very infidels to help them.
  8. Ezra 1:8 So the Chaldeans called Zerubbabel who was the chief governor, so that the preeminence still remained in the house of David.
  9. Ezra 1:9 Which served to kill the beasts that were offered in sacrifice.
  10. Ezra 1:11 With the Jews that had been kept captives in Babylon.

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. Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. And in any locality where survivors(F) may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold,(G) with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings(H) for the temple of God(I) in Jerusalem.’”(J)

Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin,(K) and the priests and Levites—everyone whose heart God had moved(L)—prepared to go up and build the house(M) of the Lord in Jerusalem. All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold,(N) with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings.

Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god.[a](O) Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar(P) the prince of Judah.

This was the inventory:

gold dishes30
silver dishes1,000
silver pans[b]29
10 gold bowls30
matching silver bowls410
other articles1,000

11 In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along with the exiles when they came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Footnotes

  1. Ezra 1:7 Or gods
  2. Ezra 1:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.