²⁰ He ^(A)took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, ^(B)and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, ²¹ to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had ^(C)enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate ^(D)it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

The Proclamation of Cyrus

^22 (E)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, ^(F)that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, ^(G)the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: ²³ “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up.’”