Ezra

Chapter 1

The Proclamation of Cyrus and Cyrus Restores the Holy Vessels

Ezra 1 opens with the LORD stirring Cyrus to proclaim that the exiles may return and rebuild the house in Jerusalem, with their neighbors supplying what they need for the journey. The chapter then turns to the temple vessels Nebuchadnezzar had taken, now counted out and returned under Persian authority as the exiles go up from Babylon.

As the book begins, this chapter sets the return in motion and frames it as the LORD's faithfulness to his earlier word. It opens Ezra with permission, provision, and restored temple goods before the work in Jerusalem begins.

2 sections·268 words·~1 min read

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Ezra 1

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vv. 1-6

The Proclamation of Cyrus

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I¹n the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows: ²“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ³Whoever among you belongs to His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem. ⁴And let every survivor, wherever he lives, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.’”

⁵So the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites— everyone whose spirit God had stirred— prepared to go up and rebuild the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. ⁶And all their neighbors supported them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuables, in addition to all their freewill offerings.

vv. 7-11

Cyrus Restores the Holy Vessels

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K⁷ing Cyrus also brought out the articles belonging to the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the temple of his gods. ⁸Cyrus king of Persia had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.

⁹This was the inventory: ¹⁰30 gold bowls, ¹¹In all, there were 5,400 gold and silver articles. Sheshbazzar brought all these along when the exiles went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

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