²⁵ Then ^(A)Jeremiah chanted a song of mourning for Josiah. And all the male and female singers speak about Josiah in their songs of mourning to this day. And they made them an ordinance in Israel; behold, they are also written in the Lamentations.

¹² He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God; ^(A)he did not humble himself ^(B)before Jeremiah the prophet ^[a]who spoke for the Lord.

^21 (A)to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until ^(B)the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. ^(C)All the days of its desolation it kept the Sabbath ^[a](D)until seventy years were complete.

Cyrus Permits Return

^22 (E)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to fulfill the word of the Lord ^(F)by the mouth of Jeremiah—the Lord ^(G)stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

Cyrus’ Proclamation

1 ^(A)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he ^(B)sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:

² in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the Lord to ^(A)Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, ^(B)seventy years.