² This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.^(A)

³ In the first year of King Cyrus, he issued a decree^(A) concerning the house of God in Jerusalem:

Let the house be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices, and let its original foundations be retained.^[a] Its height is to be ninety feet^[b] and its width ninety feet,^{(B) 4} with three layers of cut^[c] stones and one of timber.^(C) The cost is to be paid from the royal treasury.^{[d](D) 5} The gold and silver articles of God’s house that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon must also be returned. They are to be brought to the temple in Jerusalem where they belong^[e] and put into the house of God.^(E)