The Proclamation of Cyrus

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

¹⁰ “For thus says the Lord: ^(A)When seventy years are completed for Babylon, ^(B)I will visit you, ^(C)and I will fulfill to you my promise ^(D)and bring you back to this place.

The Proclamation of Cyrus

^22 (A)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, ^(B)that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, ^(C)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.’”

¹² Then after ^(A)seventy years are completed, ^(B)I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, ^(C)the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, ^(D)making the land an everlasting waste. ¹³ I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written ^(E)in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. ^14 (F)For many nations ^(G)and great kings shall make slaves even of them, ^(H)and I will recompense them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

^27 (A)Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, ^(B)who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem,

²² And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread ^(A)seven days with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful ^(B)and had turned the heart of ^(C)the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

^7 (A)I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, ^(B)and rebuild them as they were ^(C)at first. ^8 (D)I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, ^(E)and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. ^9 (F)And this city^[a] shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall ^(G)fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.

¹⁰ “Thus says the Lord: In this place ^(H)of which you say, ‘It is a waste without man or beast,’ in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man or inhabitant or beast, there shall be heard again ^11 (I)the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring ^(J)thank offerings to the house of the Lord:

^(L)For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the Lord.

¹² “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(M)In this place that is waste, without man or beast, and in all of its cities, there shall again be ^(N)habitations of shepherds ^(O)resting their flocks. ^13 (P)In the cities of the hill country, ^(Q)in the cities of the Shephelah, ^(R)and in the cities of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, ^(S)the places about Jerusalem, ^(T)and in the cities of Judah, ^(U)flocks shall again pass under the hands ^(V)of the one who counts them, says the Lord.