The Proclamation of Cyrus
(2 Chronicles 36:22–23; Isaiah 45:1–25)

1And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of YHWH by the mouth of Jeremiah, YHWH stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he caused to pass over a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also in writing, saying,

2“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia,

‘All the kingdoms of the earth YHWH, God of the heavens, has given to me, and He has commanded to me to build for Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

3Who is among you⁺ of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of YHWH, God of Israel—He is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4And whoever is left in any place where he is a sojourner, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with livestock, along with the freewill offerings for the house of God, which is in Jerusalem.’”

5And the heads of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin arose, and the priests, and the Levites, with all whose spirit God had moved to go up and build the house of YHWH, which is in Jerusalem.

6And all around them strengthened their hands with articles of silver, with gold, with goods, and with livestock, and with precious things, in addition to all that was freely offered.

Cyrus Restores the Holy Vessels

7And King Cyrus brought out the articles of the house of YHWH that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem, and he put them in the temple of his gods. 8And Cyrus king of Persia brought them out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and he counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.† 9And these are their numbers:

Gold dishes,† thirty;

silver dishes, a thousand;

knives, nine and twenty;

10gold bowls, thirty;

bowls of silver, seconds, four hundred and ten;

other articles, a thousand.

11All the articles of the gold and of the silver were five thousand and four hundred. All this Sheshbazzar brought up with the going up of the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem.