Ezr 1:1-4, 7-11, 6:1-12, 7:6, 8, 11-28 | ESV | STEP | In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia , that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled , the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia , so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing :

af[See ver. 14 above]

ag 2 Chr. 6:2; [Ps. 135:21]

ah ch. 8:25

ai 1 Chr. 29:6, 9

aj Deut. 12:5, 11

an ch. 4:13, 20

ao Ex. 18:21, 22; Deut. 16:18

apSee ver. 10

aq 1 Chr. 29:10

ar ch. 6:22

as ch. 9:9

Ezra 1:1-4

The Proclamation of Cyrus

1 ^aIn the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, ^bthat the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so ^cthat he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:

2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and ^dhe has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever 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 rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel— ^ehe is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”

Ezra 1:7-11

7 ^fCyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that ^gNebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. 8 Cyrus king of Persia brought these out in the charge of ^hMithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to ⁱSheshbazzar the prince of Judah. 9 And this was the number of them: ^j30 basins of gold, 1,000 basins of silver, 29 censers, 10 30 bowls of gold, 410 bowls of silver, and 1,000 other vessels; 11 all the vessels of gold and of silver were 5,400. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.

Ezra 6:1-12

The Decree of Darius

1 Then Darius the king made a decree, and ^ksearch was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives where the documents were stored. 2 And in Ecbatana, the citadel that is ^lin the province of Media, a scroll was found on which this was written: “A record. 3 In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be sixty cubits ^{▼▼A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters} and its breadth sixty cubits, 4 ⁿwith three layers of great stones and one layer of timber. Let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. 5 And also ^olet the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought back to the temple that is in Jerusalem, each to its place. You shall put them in the house of God.”

6 “Now therefore, ^pTattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, ^qand your ^{▼▼Aramaic their} associates the governors who are in the province Beyond the River, keep away. 7 Let the work on this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. 8 Moreover, ^sI make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River. 9 And whatever is needed—bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, as the priests at Jerusalem require—let that be given to them day by day without fail, 10 that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven ^tand pray for the life of the king and his sons. 11 Also I make a decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and ^uhis house shall be made a dunghill. 12 May the God ^vwho has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who shall put out a hand to alter this, or to destroy this house of God that is in Jerusalem. I Darius make a decree; let it be done with all diligence.”

Ezra 7:6

6 this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe ^wskilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, ^xfor the hand of the Lord his God was on him.

Ezra 7:8

8 And Ezra ^{▼▼Aramaic he} came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.

Ezra 7:11-28

11 This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes for Israel: 12 “Artaxerxes, ^zking of kings, to Ezra the priest, the ^aascribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Peace. ^{▼▼Aramaic Perfect (probably a greeting)} ^acAnd now 13 ^adI make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. 14 For you are sent by the king ^aeand his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand, 15 and also to carry the silver and gold that the king ^afand his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, ^agwhose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 ^ahwith all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia, and ^aiwith the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, vowed willingly for the house of their God that is in Jerusalem. 17 With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and ^ajyou shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God that is in Jerusalem. 18 Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God. 19 The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem. 20 And whatever else is required for the house of your God, which it falls to you to provide, you may provide it out of the king’s treasury.

21 “And I, Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence, 22 up to 100 talents ^{▼▼A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms} of silver, 100 cors ^{▼▼A cor was about 6 bushels or 220 liters} of wheat, 100 baths ^{▼▼A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters} of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. 23 Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons. 24 We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose ^antribute, custom, or toll on anyone of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

25 “And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, ^aoappoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. ^apAnd those who do not know them, you shall teach. 26 Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment.”

27 ^aqBlessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, ^arwho put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, 28 ^asand who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.