Ezra 1:1

1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia - this fulfilled the Message of God preached by Jeremiah - God prodded Cyrus king of Persia to make an official announcement throughout his kingdom. He wrote it out as follows:

Ezra 1:1 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 1:1

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia
Not in the first of his reign over Persia, for he had been many years king over that, and now had all the kingdoms of the earth given him, ( Ezra 1:2 ) , but over Babylon, and the dominions belonging to it, which commenced with Darius upon the taking of Babylon; he reigned in all thirty years, as Cicero ^F7 from a Persian writer relates; or twenty nine, according to Herodotus ^F8; but in what year this was is not certain; Africanus ^F9, has proved, from various historians, that it was the first year of the fifty fifth Olympiad, perhaps about the twentieth of Cyrus's Persian government ^F11; (See Gill on Daniel 10:1),

that the word of the Lord, by the mouth of Jeremiah, might be
fulfilled;
which foretold that the Jews should return from their captivity at the end of seventy years, which fell on the first of Cyrus, reckoning from the fourth of Jehoiakim, and the first of Nebuchadnezzar, see ( Jeremiah 25:1 Jeremiah 25:11 Jeremiah 25:12 ) ( 29:10 ) .

The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia;
who has the hearts of all men in his hands, and even of the kings of the earth, and can turn them as he pleases; he wrought upon him, put it into his heart, enlightened his mind, showed him what was right, and his duty to do, and pressed him to the performance of it; so that he could not be easy until he had done it, and he was made thoroughly willing, and even eager to do it:

that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom,
and put it also in writing; gave it in writing to his heralds to read and proclaim throughout all his dominions:

saying;
as follows.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 De Divinatione, l. 1.
F8 Clio, sive, l. 1. c. 214.
F9 Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 10. c. 10. p. 488.
F11 Nic. Abrami Pharus, p. 303.

Ezra 1:1 In-Context

1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia - this fulfilled the Message of God preached by Jeremiah - God prodded Cyrus king of Persia to make an official announcement throughout his kingdom. He wrote it out as follows:

2 From Cyrus king of Persia, a Proclamation: God, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has also assigned me to build him a Temple of worship in Jerusalem, Judah.

3 Who among you belongs to his people? God be with you! Go to Jerusalem which is in Judah and build The Temple of God, the God of Israel, Jerusalem's God.

4 Those who stay behind, wherever they happen to live, will support them with silver, gold, tools, and pack animals, along with Freewill-Offerings for The Temple of God in Jerusalem.

5 The heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites - everyone, in fact, God prodded - set out to build The Temple of God in Jerusalem.