Ezr 1:2-4 | TNotes | STEP | 1:2 Though Cyrus speaks of the Lord , the God of heaven, Cyrus actually was a Zoroastrian. His proclamation, written in Hebrew, was probably political propaganda to gain Jewish support for his rule. In a similar statement to the Babylonians, Cyrus claimed to worship their chief god, Marduk. However, his words here do reflect that God had appointed him to build him a Temple at Jerusalem (see Isa 44:28 ; 45:1 , 13 ). He might have learned of such prophecies from Daniel, who served in his court as a high government official (Cyrus is apparently referred to by his Median name, Darius, in Dan 6:1-28 ; 9:1 ). God had long planned to raise up Cyrus and give him a vision to restore worship at Jerusalem (Isa 44:28 ; 45:13 ; 48:14-15 ).

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bIsa 44:28►

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eDan 6:1-28►

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gIsa 44:28►

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i48:14-15►

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‏ Ezra 1:2-4

1:2 ^a Though Cyrus speaks of the Lord, the God of heaven, Cyrus actually was a Zoroastrian. His proclamation, written in Hebrew, was probably political propaganda to gain Jewish support for his rule. In a similar statement to the Babylonians, Cyrus claimed to worship their chief god, Marduk. However, his words here do reflect that God had appointed him to build him a Temple at Jerusalem (see Isa 44:28 ^b; 45:1 ^c, 13 ^d). He might have learned of such prophecies from Daniel, who served in his court as a high government official (Cyrus is apparently referred to by his Median name, Darius, in Dan 6:1-28 ^e; 9:1 ^f). God had long planned to raise up Cyrus and give him a vision to restore worship at Jerusalem (Isa 44:28 ^g; 45:13 ^h; 48:14-15 ⁱ).
1:3 ^j Any of you who are his people may go: The Assyrians and Babylonians had ruled their empires by deporting people and spreading them out in cities throughout their empires. The Persians, by contrast, returned exiled people to their homelands, expecting the returned people to be thankful, obey the Persians, and pay their taxes.
1:4 ^k Cyrus was probably not urging Babylonian neighbors of the Jewish remnant to help the Hebrews. Rather, he was encouraging Jews who had decided to stay in Babylon to help their countrymen who were returning to Jerusalem.