Ezra 1
Cyrus, the king of Persia, issued a proclamation allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, and he also returned the temple vessels that had been taken by Nebuchadnezzar. The leaders of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites, were stirred by God to go up to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. The people around them provided assistance with silver, gold, goods, and beasts, in addition to freewill offerings. Cyrus handed over the temple vessels to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah, who brought them up to Jerusalem when the exiles returned from Babylonia.
1In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD 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:2"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.3Whoever 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 rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel--he is the God who is in Jerusalem.4And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem."5Then rose up the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem.6And all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered.7Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods.8Cyrus king of Persia brought these out in charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.9And this was the number of them: 30 basins of gold, 1,000 basins of silver, 29 censers,1030 bowls of gold, 410 bowls of silver, and 1,000 other vessels;11all the vessels of gold and of silver were 5,400. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.
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