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 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and ^(C)He has appointed me to rebuild for Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

^12 (A)Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and it was written just as Haman commanded to ^(B)the king’s satraps, to the governors who were over each province and to the officials of each people, each province according to its script, each people according to its language, being written ^(C)in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring.

^9 (A)So the king’s scribes were summoned at that time in the third month (that is, the month Sivan), on the twenty-third ^[a]day; and it was written in accordance with everything that Mordecai commanded the Jews, the satraps, the governors, and the officials of the provinces which extended ^(B)from India to ^[b]Cush, 127 provinces, to ^(C)every province according to its script, and to every people according to their language, as well as to the Jews according to their script and their language.

The King Acknowledges God

4 ^[a]Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and populations of all ^[b]languages who live in all the earth: “May your ^[c](A)peace be great!