The decree of Cyrus
In his first year over Babylon, Cyrus proclaimed that the LORD had charged him to build a house at Jerusalem and released the exiles to return, fulfilling Jeremiah's seventy years (Ezra 1:1-4; 2 Chronicles 36:22-23).
1In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows: 2“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3Whoever among you belongs to 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; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.
