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Ezra 5:13

in Ezra 5

In his first year, however, Cyrus king of Babylon issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

But in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree to build this house of God.

KJV

But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God.

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This verse in Ezra 5

Commentary

5 notes on this verse
But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon,.... That is, the first year he was king of Babylon, having taken it, otherwise he was king of Persia many years before: the same King Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God; see Ezr 1:1.

This site's exposition

the first year of Cyrus

on Ezra 5:13-15

The elders' recital reaches Cyrus: in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, the same king made a decree to build this house of God. This is the Cyrus of the book's opening chapter, the pagan king the Lord stirred to send the exiles home, so the letter to Darius repeats what the book already told. Cyrus also returned the gold and silver vessels Nebuchadnezzar had carried to Babylon, handing them to a governor named Sheshbazzar with the order to carry them to Jerusalem and let the house of God be built in its place. Jamieson Fausset and Brown note this detail could only come from the Jews' own answer, since the vessels and the governor's commission were their history to tell, not Tatnai's to invent.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Note, (1.) The temple of God among men is to be built by prophecy, not by secular force (that often hinders it, but seldom furthers it), but by the word of God. As the weapons of our warfare, so the instruments of our building, are not carnal, but spiritual, and they are the ministers of the gospel that are the master-builders.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Cyrus the king . . . made a decree--The Jews were perfectly warranted according to the principles of the Persian government to proceed with the building in virtue of Cyrus' edict. For everywhere a public decree is considered as remaining in force until it is revoked but the "laws of the Medes and Persians changed not" [Da 6:8, 12, 15].

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

Not a word was uttered to dispirit the Jews or afford cause of triumph to their opponents. Matters were to go on till contrary orders arrived from Babylon. After surveying the work in progress, he inquired: first, by what authority this national temple was undertaken; and, secondly, the names of the principal promoters and directors of the undertaking.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

But now But now, since our forefathers angered the God of the heavens, He delivered them into the hands of the Chaldean king of Babylon, and he destroyed this House and exiled the people to Babylon.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Ezra 5:12:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

15 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

5 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Ezra 6:14So the Jewish elders built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.4 worksEzra 1:1–8In 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:2 worksIsaiah 44:28who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”2 worksEzra 6:3–5In the first year of King Cyrus, he issued a decree concerning the house of God in Jerusalem: Let the house be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices, and let its foundations be firmly laid. It is to be sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide,2 worksEzra 7:13I hereby decree that any volunteers among the Israelites in my kingdom, including the priests and Levites, may go up with you to Jerusalem.2 works

The walk

5 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Isaiah 44:28

    who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”

    it leads to

    • 2 Chronicles 36:22

      In 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…

    • Isaiah 45:1

      This 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…

    • Ezra 6:3–18

      In the first year of King Cyrus, he issued a decree concerning the house of God in Jerusalem: Let the house be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices, and let its foundations be…

    • Isaiah 45:13

      I will raise up Cyrus in righteousness, and I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild My city and set My exiles free, but not for payment or reward, says the LORD…

    • Daniel 10:1

      In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, and it concerned a great conflict. And the understanding of the…

About Ezra

Ezra Kneels in Prayer, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezra Kneels in Prayer, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezra: the study guide →Read Ezra 5 →

This page draws on Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

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