Berean Standard Bible
Ezra 1:2
2“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judah.
Ezra 1:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
- New International Version (NIV)“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “ ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah.
Context of Ezra 1:2
1In 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: “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3Whoever among you belongs to His people, 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; He is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4And let every survivor, wherever he lives, 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.’”
Read all of Ezra 1Ezra 1:2 word by word
כֹּ֣ה אָמַ֗ר כֹּ֚רֶשׁ מֶ֣לֶךְ פָּרַ֔ס כֹּ֚ל מַמְלְכ֣וֹת הָאָ֔רֶץ נָ֣תַן לִ֔י יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם וְהֽוּא־פָקַ֤ד עָלַי֙ לִבְנֽוֹת־ל֣וֹ בַ֔יִת בִּירוּשָׁלִַ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר בִּֽיהוּדָֽה׃Read the interlinear
- This is whatכֹּהkôh · thusH3541
- Cyrusכּ֫וֹרֶשׁkôresh kôresh · CyrusH3566
- kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Persiaפָּרַסpâras · PersiaH6539
- saysאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- The LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- the Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- of heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
- whoהוּאhû' hîy' · he/she/itH1931
- has givenנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
- the kingdomsמַמְלָכָהmamlâkâh · kingdomH4467
- of the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- has appointedפָּקַדpâqad · to reckon: overseerH6485
- meעַל‛al · uponH5921
- to buildבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
- a houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
- at Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
- ·אֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
- in Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
Cross-references for Ezra 1:2
- 1 Kings 8:27But will God indeed dwell upon the earth? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.
- 2 Chronicles 2:12And Hiram added: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth! He has given King David a wise son with insight and understanding, who will build a temple for the LORD and a royal palace for himself.
- Isaiah 66:1This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?
- Jeremiah 10:11Thus you are to tell them: “These gods, who have made neither the heavens nor the earth, will perish from this earth and from under these heavens.”
- Daniel 2:21He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
- Daniel 5:23Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.
- Jeremiah 27:6So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I have even made the beasts of the field subject to him.
- Daniel 2:37You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.
- Daniel 4:25You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.
- Daniel 5:19Because of the greatness that He bestowed on him, the people of every nation and language trembled in fear before him. He killed whom he wished and kept alive whom he wished; he exalted whom he wished and humbled whom he wished.
- Isaiah 44:26who confirms the message of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, and I will restore their ruins,’
- Isaiah 45:1This is what the LORD says to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him, so that the gates will not be shut:
Commentaries on Ezra 1:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2The Lord God of heaven - It is not unworthy of remark, that in all the books written prior to the captivity, Jehovah is called The Lord of Hosts; but in all the books written after the captivity, as 2 Chronicles, Ezra Nehemiah, and Daniel, he is styled The God of Heaven. The words however have the same meaning. All the kingdoms of the earth. At this time the empire of the Medo-Persians was very extensive: according to ancient writers, Cyrus, at this time…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2The Lord God of heaven - Or, “Yahweh, the God of heaven.” In the original Persian, the document probably ran - “ Ormazd, the God of heaven.” The Hebrew transcript took “Yahweh” as the equivalent of “Ormazd.” The Persian notion of a single Supreme Being - Ahura-Mazda, “the much-knowing, or much-bestowing Spirit” - did, in fact, approach nearly to the Jewish conception of Yahweh. Hath given me all the kingdoms - There is a similar formula at the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Although Cyrus mentions the Lord, the God of heaven, he was actually a Zoroastrian. His proclamation, written in Hebrew, was likely political propaganda to gain Jewish support for his rule. In a similar statement to the Babylonians, Cyrus claimed to worship their chief god, Marduk. However, his words here show that God appointed him to build a temple in Jerusalem (see Isaiah 44:28; 45:1, 13). He might have learned about these prophecies from Daniel, who…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth--Though this is in the Oriental style of hyperbole (see also Da 4:1), it was literally true that the Persian empire was the greatest ruling power in the world at that time. he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem--The phraseology of this proclamation, independently of the express testimony of Josephus, affords indisputable evidence that Cyrus had seen (probably through…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezra 1:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezra 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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