2 Chronicles 36:22-23
New English Translation
Cyrus Allows the Exiles to Go Home
22 In the first year[a] of King Cyrus of Persia, in fulfillment of the Lord’s message spoken through Jeremiah,[b] the Lord motivated[c] King Cyrus of Persia to issue a proclamation[d] throughout his kingdom and also to put it in writing. It read:
23 “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:
‘The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Anyone of his people among you may go up there, and may the Lord his God be with him.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Chronicles 36:22 sn The first year of Cyrus would be ca. 539 b.c. Cyrus reigned in Persia from ca. 539-530 b.c.
- 2 Chronicles 36:22 tn Heb “by the mouth of Jeremiah.”sn See Jer 25:11; 29:10.
- 2 Chronicles 36:22 tn Heb “stirred the spirit of.” The Hebrew noun רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) has a broad range of meanings (see BDB 924-26 s.v.). Here, it probably refers to (1) “mind” as the seat of mental acts (e.g., Exod 28:3; Deut 34:9; Isa 29:24; 40:13; Ezek 11:5; 20:32; 1 Chr 28:12; cf. BDB 925 s.v. 6) or (2) “will” as the seat of volitional decisions (e.g., Exod 35:5, 22; Pss 51:12, 14; 57:8; 2 Chr 29:31; cf. BDB 925 s.v. 7). So also in Ezra 1:5. The entire phrase “stirred the spirit” has been rendered as “motivated” to better reflect normal English.
- 2 Chronicles 36:22 tn Heb “a voice.” The Hebrew noun קוֹל (qol, “voice, sound”) has a broad range of meanings, including the metonymical (cause—effect) nuance “proclamation” (e.g., Exod 36:6; 2 Chr 24:9; 30:5; 36:22; Ezra 1:1; 10:7; Neh 8:15). See BDB 877 s.v. 3.a.2.
2 Chronicles 36:22-23
English Standard Version
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.’”
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.