Bible Study Ezra 1
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Ezra 1 · WEB

Cyrus's Decree and the Return of the Exiles

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Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:
2"Cyrus king of Persia says: 'Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he has commanded me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
3Whoever there is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of Yahweh, the God of Israel (he is God), which is in Jerusalem.
4Whoever is left, in any place where he lives, let the men of his place help him with silver, with gold, with goods, and with animals, alongside the freewill offerings for God's house which is in Jerusalem.'"
5Then the heads of fathers' households of Judah and Benjamin, the priests, and the Levites, even all whose spirit God had stirred up, rose up to go up to build Yahweh's house which is in Jerusalem.
6All those who were around them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with animals, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered.
7Also Cyrus the king brought out the vessels of Yahweh's house, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought out of Jerusalem and had put in the house of his gods.
8Even those Cyrus king of Persia brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.
9This is the number of them: thirty platters of gold, one thousand platters of silver, twenty-nine knives,
10thirty bowls of gold, four hundred ten silver bowls of a second kind, and a thousand other vessels.
11All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand four hundred. Sheshbazzar brought all these up when the captives were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
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Summary

In 538 BC, Cyrus king of Persia issues a decree allowing Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple — fulfilling Jeremiah's prophecy of a 70-year exile to the day. God "stirred up the spirit" of this pagan king to accomplish his redemptive purposes. Those whose hearts God stirred rise up, supported by freewill offerings from neighbors, and Cyrus even returns the temple vessels Nebuchadnezzar had looted 70 years earlier.

Themes

  • God's sovereignty over pagan rulers to accomplish his purposes
  • Fulfillment of prophecy through unexpected means
  • Restoration — people, worship, and sacred objects returning home

Key verses

  • Ezra 1:1 — “Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom.”
  • Ezra 1:3 — “Whoever there is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem... and build the house of Yahweh.”
  • Ezra 1:7 — “Cyrus the king brought out the vessels of Yahweh's house, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought out of Jerusalem.”

Context & background

Cyrus the Great of Persia (modern Iran) conquered Babylon in 539 BC and issued decrees allowing exiled peoples to return to their homelands — confirmed by the Cyrus Cylinder (now in the British Museum, London). The Jewish exile had begun in 605 BC and the temple was destroyed in 586 BC; Cyrus's decree in 538 BC fulfills Jeremiah's 70-year prophecy (Jeremiah 25:11-12; 29:10) and Isaiah's remarkable prediction that named Cyrus by name some 150 years before his birth (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1). Babylon = modern central Iraq; Jerusalem = modern Israel. The book of Ezra picks up exactly where 2 Chronicles ends (the final two verses of 2 Chronicles are nearly identical to Ezra 1:1-3), continuing the story of restoration.

Cross-references

  • 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 — The identical ending of Chronicles; Ezra opens where Chronicles closes
  • Daniel 9:2 — Daniel understood from Jeremiah's books the number of years of desolation
  • Haggai 1:14 — God "stirred up the spirit" of Zerubbabel just as he stirred Cyrus here
  • Isaiah 44:28–45:1 — God names Cyrus as "my shepherd" who will authorize Jerusalem's rebuilding
  • Jeremiah 25:11-12; 29:10 — The 70-year exile prophecy now fulfilled

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    In what year of which king's reign did the events of Ezra 1 take place?

  2. Observe

    Who carried the temple vessels back from Babylon to Jerusalem?

  3. Interpret

    What is theologically significant about Yahweh "stirring up" the spirit of a pagan king?

  4. Interpret

    Why does the text emphasize that the decree fulfilled "the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah"?

  5. Apply

    What does Cyrus's decree teach us about trusting God when his promises seem delayed?

  6. Apply

    How should we respond when God "stirs up our spirit" toward a costly act of obedience, as he did with the exiles?

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