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Now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia (so that the Word of the LORD, by the mouth of Jeremiah, might be accomplished) the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia. And he made a proclamation through all his kingdom, and also by writing, saying,

“Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia, ‘The LORD God of Heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the Earth. And He has Commanded me to build Him a 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 Who is in Jerusalem.

“And anyone who remains in any place where he has sojourned, let the men of his place support him with silver and with gold and with goods and with cattle, 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 those whose spirit God had raised up to go, to build the House of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.

And all those who were around them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods and with cattle, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered.

Also, King Cyrus brought forth the vessels of the House of the LORD which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of Jerusalem and put in the house of his god.

Cyrus, king of Persia, brought them forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.

And this is the number of them: thirty basins of gold, one thousand basins of silver, twenty-nine knives,

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

11 All the vessels of gold and silver were five thousand four hundred. Sheshbazzar brought up all with those of the captivity who came up from Babel to Jerusalem.

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.