Cyrus Permits Return

22 (A)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to fulfill the word of the Lord (B)by the mouth of Jeremiah—the Lord (C)stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, 23 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up!’”

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Cyrus’s Proclamation

(A)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he (B)sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:

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32 “How then will one answer the (A)messengers of the nation?
That (B)the Lord has founded Zion,
And (C)the afflicted of His people will seek refuge in it.”

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13 “I have aroused him in (A)righteousness
And I will (B)make all his ways smooth;
He will (C)build My city and will let My exiles go (D)free,
Without any payment or reward,” says the Lord of hosts.

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11 “O (A)afflicted one, storm-tossed, and (B)not comforted,
Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
And your foundations I will (C)lay in [a](D)sapphires.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 54:11 Or lapis lazuli