The Decree of Cyrus

1 In^(A) the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah,^(B) the Lord roused the spirit^(C) of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing:

² This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.^{(D) 3} Any of his people among you, 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,^(E) the God who is in Jerusalem. ⁴ Let every survivor,^(F) wherever he resides, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.”

Sacrifice Restored

3 When the seventh month arrived,^(A) and the Israelites were in their towns, the people gathered as one in Jerusalem.^{(B) 2} Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel^(C) and his brothers began to build the altar of Israel’s God in order to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God.^{(D) 3} They set up the altar on its foundation and offered burnt offerings for the morning and evening on it to the Lord even though they feared the surrounding peoples.^{(E) 4} They celebrated the Festival of Shelters as prescribed, and offered burnt offerings each day, based on the number specified by ordinance for each festival day.^(F)

Temple Foundation Completed

¹⁰ When the builders had laid the foundation of the Lord’s temple, the priests, dressed in their robes and holding trumpets, and the Levites descended from Asaph,^(A) holding cymbals, took their positions to praise the Lord, as King David of Israel had instructed.^{(B) 11} They sang with praise and thanksgiving to the Lord: “For he is good; his faithful love to Israel endures forever.”^(C) Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s house had been laid.^(D)

¹² But many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads, who had seen the first temple, wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this temple,^(E) but many others shouted joyfully. ¹³ The people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shouting from that of the^[a] weeping,^(F) because the people were shouting so loudly. And the sound was heard far away.

Simeon’s Prophetic Praise

²⁵ There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout,^(A) looking forward to Israel’s consolation,^(B) and the Holy Spirit was on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit^(C) that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Messiah.^{(D) 27} Guided by the Spirit, he entered the temple. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform for him what was customary under the law, ²⁸ Simeon took him up in his arms, praised God, and said,