The Decree of Cyrus

In(A) the first year of Cyrus king of Persia,[a] the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled.(B) The Lord put it into the mind(C) of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing:

This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build Him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.(D) Whoever is among 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,(E) the God who is in Jerusalem. Let every survivor,(F) 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.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 1:1 Cyrus reigned 559–530 b.c.

So we questioned the elders and asked, “Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure?”[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 5:9 Or finish its furnishings

13 However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, he issued a decree to rebuild the house of God.(A)

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In the first year of King Cyrus, he issued a decree(A) concerning the house of God in Jerusalem:

Let the house be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices, and let its original foundations be retained.[a] Its height is to be 90 feet[b] and its width 90 feet,[c][d](B)

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 6:3 Lit be brought forth
  2. Ezra 6:3 Lit 60 cubits
  3. Ezra 6:3 Lit 60 cubits
  4. Ezra 6:3 A copyist seemingly overlooked the term for length and inadvertently read the 60 cubits for height and width. Like Solomon’s temple, this temple was probably 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

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