Ezra 1
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
End of the Babylonian Captivity
1 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord from the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also in writing, saying:(A)
2 “Thus says King Cyrus 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.(B) 3 Let any of those among you who are of his people—may their God be with them!—go up to Jerusalem in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel; he is the God who is in Jerusalem.(C) 4 And let all survivors in whatever place they reside be assisted by the people of their place with silver and gold, with goods, and with livestock, besides freewill offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.”
5 Then the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites—everyone whose spirit God had stirred—got ready to go up and rebuild the house of the Lord in Jerusalem.(D) 6 All their neighbors aided them with silver vessels, with gold, with goods, with livestock, and with valuable gifts, besides all that was freely offered. 7 King Cyrus himself brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods.(E) 8 King Cyrus of Persia had them released into the charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.(F) 9 And this was the inventory: gold basins, thirty; silver basins, one thousand; knives,[a] twenty-nine; 10 gold bowls, thirty; other silver bowls, four hundred ten; other vessels, one thousand; 11 the total of the gold and silver vessels was five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar brought up when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- 1.9 Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
Ezra 1
International Standard Version
An Edict to Rebuild the Temple(A)
1 During the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in fulfillment of the message from the Lord spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord prompted[a] Cyrus, king of Persia, to make this proclamation throughout his entire kingdom, which was also released in written form:
2 An Official Statement
from[b] Cyrus, King of Persia
All of the kingdoms of the earth have been given to me by the Lord God of Heaven, and he specifically charged me to build a temple[c] for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Therefore, who among the Lord’s[d] people trusts in his God? Whoever among this group wishes to do so may travel to Jerusalem of Judah to rebuild the Temple of the Lord[e] God of Israel, the God of Jerusalem. 4 Furthermore, everyone who wishes to repatriate[f] from any territory where he now resides is to receive assistance from his fellow residents in the form of silver, gold, equipment, and pack animals, in addition to voluntary offerings for the Temple of the God of Jerusalem.
5 In response, the heads of the families[g] of Judah and Benjamin, the priests and descendants of Levi, and all those who had been prompted[h] by God, prepared to travel to rebuild the Temple of the Lord, which was in Jerusalem. 6 So all of their neighbors equipped the travelers[i] with silver, gold, equipment, pack animals, and valuable goods, in addition to voluntary offerings.
Temple Instruments Returned
7 King Cyrus also brought out from storage[j] the service instruments from the Temple of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his gods.[k] 8 Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought out to Mithredath the Treasurer, had them inventoried, and had them placed in care of[l] Sheshbazzar,[m] governor of Judah. 9 Here is a partial inventory:[n]
Gold dishes: 30
Silver dishes: 1,000
Sacrificial knives: 29
10 Gold bowls: 30
Silver bowls of another kind:[o] 410
Miscellaneous instruments: 1,000
11 The complete inventory of gold and silver vessels totaled 5,400. Sheshbazzar[p] brought them all to Jerusalem, along with the exiles from Babylon.
Footnotes
- Ezra 1:1 Lit. stirred up the spirit of
- Ezra 1:2 Lit. Thus says
- Ezra 1:2 Or house, and so throughout the book
- Ezra 1:3 Lit. among all of his
- Ezra 1:3 Lit. of his Lord
- Ezra 1:4 Lit. who remains
- Ezra 1:5 Lit. fathers
- Ezra 1:5 Lit. all whose spirit had been stirred up
- Ezra 1:6 Lit. strengthened their hands
- Ezra 1:7 The Heb. lacks from storage
- Ezra 1:7 LXX his god
- Ezra 1:8 Lit. Treasurer, and numbered them to
- Ezra 1:8 I.e. Zerubbabel; Sheshbazzar is the Persian equivalent (cf. 2:2)
- Ezra 1:9 Lit. This was their number
- Ezra 1:10 Lit. of a second
- Ezra 1:11 I.e. Zerubbabel; Sheshbazzar is the Persian equivalent (cf. 2:2)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
