The Proclamation of Cyrus^(A)

^22 (B)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of ^(C)Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of ^(D)Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

¹² ‘Then it will come to pass, ^(A)when ^[a]seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the Lord; ^(B)‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation.

End of the Babylonian Captivity^(A)

1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord ^(B)by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, ^(C)so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

²¹ to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of ^(A)Jeremiah, until the land ^(B)had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate ^(C)she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

Vision of the Glorious Man

10 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, whose ^(A)name was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, ^[a]but the appointed time was long; and he understood the message, and had understanding of the vision.

¹⁰ “Thus says the Lord: ‘Again there shall be heard in this place—^(A)of which you say, “It is desolate, without man and without beast”—in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, ¹¹ the ^(B)voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say:

and of those who will bring ^(D)the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,’ says the Lord.

¹² “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(E)‘In this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall again be a dwelling place of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. ^13 (F)In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks shall again ^(G)pass under the hands of him who counts them,’ says the Lord.

^14 (H)‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that ^(I)I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:

⁴² “For thus says the Lord: ^(A)‘Just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them. ⁴³ And fields will be bought in this land ^(B)of which you say, “It is desolate, without man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” ⁴⁴ Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them, and take witnesses, in ^(C)the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the ^[a]lowland, and in the cities of the ^[b]South; for ^(D)I will cause their captives to return,’ says the Lord.”

Cyrus, God’s Instrument