In his first year, however, Cyrus king of Babylon issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.
Parallel translations
- WEB But in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree to build this house of God.
- 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.
- 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 King Cyrus, he issued a decree concerning the house of God in Jerusalem: Let the house be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices, and let its foundations be firmly laid. It is to be sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide,
- Isa 44:28who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”
- Ezra 1:1–8In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows:
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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
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