Ezra 1:2

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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)“This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Context of Ezra 1:2

1In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: “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. 3Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. 4And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.’ ”

Ezra 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 8:27“But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!
• 2 Chronicles 2:12And Hiram added: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth! He has given King David a wise son, endowed with intelligence and discernment, who will build a temple for the Lord and a palace for himself.
• Isaiah 66:1This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?
• Jeremiah 10:11“Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.’ ”
• Daniel 2:21He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
• Daniel 5:23Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.
• Jeremiah 27:6Now I will give all your countries into the hands of my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him.
• Daniel 2:37Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory;
• Daniel 4:25You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.
• Daniel 5:19Because of the high position he gave him, all the nations and peoples of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled.
• Isaiah 44:26who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’ of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’ and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’
• Isaiah 45:1“This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that 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

• Church and State
• Emancipation
• Heathen
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Jerusalem
• Liberality
• Obedience
• Proclamation
• Servant

In the dictionaries

• Cyrus
• God
• Jerusalem
• Judah
• Persia
• Babylon
• Captivity
• Earth
• Palestine
• Raise

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