# Ezra 01 📖: Cyrus Decrees the Return [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Ezra Overview]] | [[2 Chronicles 36]] | [[Ezra 02]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ## The Decree of Cyrus [[#Verse 01.]] In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in fulfillment of the Lord’s message spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord motivated King Cyrus of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his kingdom and also to put it in writing. It read: [[#Verse 02.]] “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “‘The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. [[#Verse 03.]] Anyone of his people among you (may his God be with him!) may go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may build the temple of the Lord God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem.  [[#Verse 04.]] Anyone who survives in any of those places where he is a resident foreigner must be helped by his neighbors with silver, gold, equipment, and animals, along with voluntary offerings for the temple of God which is in Jerusalem.’” ## The Exiles Prepare to Return to Jerusalem [[#Verse 05.]] Then the leaders of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and the Levites—all those whose mind God had stirred—got ready to go up in order to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.  [[#Verse 06.]] All their neighbors assisted them with silver utensils, gold, equipment, animals, and expensive gifts, not to mention all the voluntary offerings. [[#Verse 07.]] Then King Cyrus brought out the vessels of the Lord’s temple which Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem and had displayed in the temple of his gods.  [[#Verse 08.]] King Cyrus of Persia entrusted them to Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the leader of the Judahite exiles. [[#Verse 09.]] The inventory of these items was as follows: 30 gold basins, 1,000 silver basins, 29 silver utensils, 10 30 gold bowls, 410 other silver bowls, and 1,000 other vessels. [[#Verse 10.]] 30 gold bowls, 410 other silver bowls, and 1,000 other vessels. [[#Verse 11.]] All these gold and silver vessels totaled 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought them all along when the captives were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem. ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Ezra and Nehemiah were treated as one book in the ancient Hebrew Bible. Christian writers like Origen and Jerome divided them, and Hebrew Bibles adopted the split much later. 2. The opening verses of Ezra nearly repeat the closing verses of 2 Chronicles (2 Chronicles 36:22-23), tying the two books together. 3. Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon in 539 BC, and his decree is generally dated to his first year as ruler over Babylon, about 538 BC. 4. The Cyrus Cylinder, discovered in 1879 and now in the British Museum, describes Cyrus's policy of returning displaced peoples and restoring their sanctuaries. 5. Isaiah calls Cyrus the Lord's shepherd and His anointed one (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1), a remarkable title for a foreign king. 6. Jeremiah had prophesied that the exile would last seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11-12; 29:10). 7. The gifts from neighbors (1:4, 6) echo the Exodus, when Israel left Egypt with silver and gold from the Egyptians (Exodus 12:35-36). 8. Nebuchadnezzar had carried the temple articles to Babylon and placed them in the house of his gods (1:7; Daniel 1:2). 9. Sheshbazzar is called the prince of Judah (1:8). Some scholars identify him with Zerubbabel, while others see him as a separate, earlier leader. 10. The items listed in 1:9-10 add up to 2,499, while the total given in 1:11 is 5,400, a difference scholars explain in various ways. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the true Temple that God promised to restore. The Lord stirred hearts to go up and rebuild His house (1:5), and Jesus spoke of His own body as the temple that would be raised in three days (John 2:19-21). ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. The Lord stirred the heart of Cyrus, a pagan king, to fulfill His word through Jeremiah (1:1). What does that teach about God's control over world leaders? 2. God also stirred the hearts of His people to go up and rebuild (1:5). How do you sense God stirring your heart toward His work? 3. Neighbors supported the returning exiles with silver, gold, and gifts (1:4, 6). How does this echo the Exodus, and what does it show about God's provision? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 1: The Lord stirs the heart of King Cyrus to fulfill the word spoken through Jeremiah. - 📖 verse 3: Cyrus allows God's people to go up to Jerusalem and rebuild the Lord's temple. - 📖 verse 5: Everyone whose heart God stirred prepares to go up and build. ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[2 Chronicles 36#Verse 22.|2 Chronicles 36:22-23]] - Cyrus's decree closes the book of Chronicles. - 🔗 [[Jeremiah 29#Verse 10.|Jeremiah 29:10]] - After seventy years God will bring His people back. - 🔗 [[Isaiah 44#Verse 28.|Isaiah 44:28]] - The Lord calls Cyrus His shepherd. - 🔗 [[Proverbs 21#Verse 01.|Proverbs 21:1]] - The king's heart is in the Lord's hand. - 🔗 [[John 02#Verse 19.|John 2:19-21]] - Jesus speaks of His body as the temple. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Ezra 01 - SOAP|The Lord Keeps His Promises]] ## 📂 Internal Notes