² 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) 3} 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. ⁴ 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.”

³ 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) 4} with three layers of cut^[e] stones and one of timber.^(C) The cost is to be paid from the royal treasury.^{(D) 5} The gold and silver articles of God’s house that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon must also be returned. They are to be brought to the temple in Jerusalem where they belong^[f] and put into the house of God.^(E)