Christian Standard Bible
Ezra 1:2
2This 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.
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 King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord roused the spirit of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing: 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. 3Any 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, the God who is in Jerusalem. 4Let every survivor, 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.”
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
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thus saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Cyrusכּ֫וֹרֶשׁkôresh kôresh · CyrusH3566
- kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Persiaפָּרַסpâras · PersiaH6539
- The Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- of heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
- hath givenנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- me all the kingdomsמַמְלָכָהmamlâkâh · kingdomH4467
- of the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- and he hath chargedפָּקַדpâqad · to reckon: overseerH6485
- me to buildבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
- him an houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
- at Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
- in Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
Cross-references for Ezra 1:2
- 1 Kings 8:27But will God indeed live on earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain you, much less this temple I have built.
- 2 Chronicles 2:12Hiram also said: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth! He gave 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. Where could you possibly build a house for me? And where would my resting place be?
- Jeremiah 10:11You are to say this to them: “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”
- Daniel 2:21He changes the times and seasons; he removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.
- Daniel 5:23Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of the heavens. The vessels from his house were brought to you, and as you and your nobles, wives, and concubines drank wine from them, you praised the gods made of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or understand. But you have not glorified the God who holds your life-breath in his hand and who controls the whole course of your life.
- Jeremiah 27:6So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of my servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. I have even given him the wild animals to serve him.
- Daniel 2:37Your Majesty, you are king of kings. The God of the heavens has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.
- Daniel 4:25You will be driven away from people to live with the wild animals. You will feed on grass like cattle and be drenched with dew from the sky for seven periods of time, until you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms, and he gives them to anyone he wants.
- Daniel 5:19Because of the greatness he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages were terrified and fearful of him. He killed anyone he wanted and kept alive anyone he wanted; he exalted anyone he wanted and humbled anyone he wanted.
- Isaiah 44:26who confirms the message of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers; who says to Jerusalem, “She will be inhabited,” and to the cities of Judah, “They will be rebuilt,” and I will restore her ruins;
- Isaiah 45:1The Lord says this to Cyrus, his anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and disarm kings, to open doors before him, and even city 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
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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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