Ezra 1
EasyEnglish Bible
Cyrus sends the Jews back to Jerusalem
1 In the first year that Cyrus, king of Persia, was ruling Babylon, the Lord put a thought in his mind.[a] King Cyrus decided to send a message to everybody who lived in his kingdom. His message would cause what God had already spoken to his prophet Jeremiah to become true.[b] The message was written down and people took it all over Cyrus's kingdom. It said:
2 ‘This is what Cyrus, the king of Persia says:
The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me power over all the kingdoms of the earth. He has said that I must build a temple for him in Jerusalem, the city that is in Judah.[c] 3 Any of God's people who live among you may now return to Jerusalem. I pray that their God will be with them. They must build a temple there for the Lord, Israel's God. He is the God whose home is in Jerusalem. 4 In places where there are some Israelites who want to return, their neighbours must help them with gifts. They should give them silver, gold and other things for their journey. They should also give them animals. They may also give them special gifts for God's temple that is in Jerusalem.’
5 Then the leaders of the families of Judah and Benjamin prepared to return to Jerusalem. The priests and the Levites also prepared to go. God had put a thought in the minds of all those people that they should go. So they prepared everything that they needed to go and build the Lord's temple in Jerusalem. 6 Their neighbours gave them silver things, gold things and other valuable gifts, as well as animals. They also gave them offerings for the temple.
7 Then King Cyrus brought the valuable things that King Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Lord's temple in Jerusalem.[d] Nebuchadnezzar had taken them from Jerusalem and brought them to Babylon. He had put them in the temple of his own gods. 8 Cyrus told his officer, Mithredath, to count all the valuable things. Mithredath was the officer who took care of all Persia's riches. As he counted the things, he gave them to Sheshbazzar, the leader of Judah's people.
9 They counted the things and they made this list:
30 gold dishes.
1,000 silver dishes.
29 special tools.
10 30 gold bowls.
410 silver bowls.
1,000 other things.
11 There were 5,400 things made from gold and silver. Sheshbazzar took them all with him when he left Babylon to return to Jerusalem with the other exiles.
Footnotes
- 1:1 When we write Lord like this, it is a special name for God. Sometimes people write it as ‘Yahweh’, or as ‘Jehovah’. It is his own name that he told Moses. See Exodus 3:14. It means ‘I am who I am’. This shows that God has always been there and he always will be there.
- 1:1 See Jeremiah 29:10
- 1:2 Judah was the most important Israelite tribe.
- 1:7 See Daniel 1:1-2.
Ezra 1
New King James Version
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,
2 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia:
All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has (D)commanded me to build Him a [a]house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. 3 Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (E)(He is God), which is in Jerusalem. 4 And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.
5 Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, with all whose spirits (F)God [b]had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. 6 And all those who were around them [c]encouraged them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with precious things, besides all that was (G)willingly offered.
7 (H)King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the house of the Lord, (I)which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and put in the [d]temple of his gods; 8 and Cyrus king of Persia brought them out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them out to (J)Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. 9 This is the number of them: thirty gold platters, one thousand silver platters, twenty-nine knives, 10 thirty gold basins, four hundred and ten silver basins of a similar kind, and one thousand other articles. 11 All the articles of gold and silver were five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar took with the captives who were brought from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Ezra 1
English Standard Version
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:
2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and (D)he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—(E)he is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”
5 Then rose up the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, (F)everyone whose spirit (G)God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem. 6 And all who were about them (H)aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered. 7 (I)Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that (J)Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. 8 Cyrus king of Persia brought these out in the charge of (K)Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to (L)Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. 9 And this was the number of them: (M)30 basins of gold, 1,000 basins of silver, 29 censers, 10 30 bowls of gold, 410 bowls of silver, and 1,000 other vessels; 11 all the vessels of gold and of silver were 5,400. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.
Esdra 1
Nuova Riveduta 1994
Editto di Ciro. Ritorno dalla deportazione a Babilonia(A)
1 (B)Nel primo anno di *Ciro, re di Persia, affinché si adempisse la parola del Signore pronunziata per bocca di *Geremia, il Signore destò lo spirito di Ciro, re di Persia, il quale a voce e per iscritto fece proclamare per tutto il suo regno questo editto: 2 «Cosí dice Ciro, re di Persia: “Il Signore, Dio dei cieli, mi ha dato tutti i regni della terra, ed egli mi ha comandato di costruirgli una casa a *Gerusalemme, che si trova in *Giuda. 3 Chiunque tra voi è del suo popolo, il suo Dio sia con lui, salga a Gerusalemme, che si trova in Giuda, e costruisca la casa del Signore, Dio d'*Israele, del Dio che è a Gerusalemme. 4 Tutti quelli che rimangono ancora del popolo del Signore, dovunque risiedano, siano assistiti dalla gente del posto con argento, oro, doni in natura, bestiame, e inoltre con offerte volontarie per la casa del Dio che è a Gerusalemme”».
5 Allora i capi famiglia di Giuda e di *Beniamino, i *sacerdoti e i *Leviti, tutti quelli ai quali Dio aveva destato lo spirito, si misero in cammino verso Gerusalemme per ricostruire la casa del Signore. 6 Tutti i loro vicini li fornirono di oggetti d'argento e d'oro, di doni in natura, di bestiame, di cose preziose, oltre a tutte le offerte volontarie. 7 Il re Ciro tirò fuori gli utensili della casa del Signore, che *Nabucodonosor aveva portati via da Gerusalemme e messi nella casa del suo dio. 8 Ciro, re di Persia, li fece tirar fuori da Mitredat, il tesoriere, che li consegnò a Sesbasar[a], capo di Giuda. 9 Eccone il numero: trenta bacinelle d'oro, mille bacinelle d'argento, ventinove coltelli, 10 trenta coppe d'oro, quattrocentodieci coppe d'argento di seconda qualità, mille altri utensili. 11 In tutto c'erano cinquemilaquattrocento oggetti d'oro e d'argento. Sesbasar li riportò tutti, quando gli esuli furono ricondotti da *Babilonia a Gerusalemme.
Footnotes
- Esdra 1:8 Sesbasar, nome aramaico di Zorobabele.
Ezra 1
New International Version
Cyrus Helps the Exiles to Return(A)
1 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:
2 “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. 3 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. 4 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)
5 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. 6 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.
7 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) 8 Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar(P) the prince of Judah.
9 This was the inventory:
| gold dishes | 30 |
| silver dishes | 1,000 |
| silver pans[b] | 29 |
| 10 gold bowls | 30 |
| matching silver bowls | 410 |
| other articles | 1,000 |
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.
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