But in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree to build this house of God.
Parallel translations
- KJV But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God.
- BSB In his first year, however, Cyrus king of Babylon issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.
- NKJV However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to build this house of God.
- NASB However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.
- NLT However, King Cyrus of Babylon, during the first year of his reign, issued a decree that the Temple of God should be rebuilt.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They explained that King Cyrus had decreed the temple be rebuilt. They grounded their work in lawful royal authorization.
Overview
The elders pointed to Cyrus's decree (Ezra 1:1-4) as the legal basis for the project. This countered any charge of unauthorized building. Behind the decree stood God Himself, who had stirred Cyrus to release His people, showing His sovereign hand over kings.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Ezra 6:3–5In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made a decree: Concerning God’s house at Jerusalem, let the house be built, the place where they offer sacrifices, and let its foundations be strongly laid; with its height sixty cubits, and its width sixty cubits;
- Isa 44:28Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure,’ even saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built;’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’”
- Ezra 1:1–8Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that Yahweh’s word by Jeremiah’s mouth might be accomplished, Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The return from exile and the rebuilt altar keep alive the hope of a greater restoration — the true return from our deeper exile of sin accomplished by Christ.
How Ezra 5:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.