Ezra
Chapter 1
1
The Return from Exile
In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, the Lord chose to fulfill the word he had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah. So he moved the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, to issue the following command and send it out in writing to be read aloud everywhere in his kingdom.
2
Thus speaks Cyrus, king of Persia: “The Lord, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has ordered me to build him a temple in Jerusalem, in the land of Judah.
3
To everyone belonging to his people, may his God be with him! Let them go up to Jerusalem with the help of their God and, there, build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem.
4
In every place where the Lord’s people live, let the local inhabitants help them on their journey with silver, gold, all kinds of goods, and livestock. Let them also give voluntary offerings for the house of the Lord in Jerusalem.”
5
Then they rose—the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, the priests and the Levites, and all those whose spirit God had stirred up—and decided to go and build the house of the Lord.
6
And all their neighbors offered them various kinds of help: gold, silver, livestock, and precious objects in large amounts, in addition to every type of voluntary offering.
7
King Cyrus also returned the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods.
8
Cyrus, the king, gave them to Mithredath, the treasurer, who counted them and turned them over to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.
9
This is the list: golden cups for the offering, 30; silver cups for the offering, 1,000; knives, 29;
10
other cups of gold, 30; of silver, 410; and other vessels, 1,000.
11
The total number of gold and silver vessels is 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought all of these out when the exiles were allowed to return to Jerusalem from Babylon.
Commentaries
The Return from Exile.
A new era begins. Those who separated this book from the preceding chapters, known as Chronicles, believed that this page signaled the start of a new era, and thus, a new era called for a new book. The Chronicler aimed to describe an ending, focusing on Jerusalem, the Temple, and the wall. The Lord, who incited Nebuchadnezzar to punishment, now raises Cyrus to restore them. From this point forward, the Israelites will be known as the Jews; the priesthood will replace the kings; and the prophets will be succeeded by eschatology. At this stage, the new community of the future will take shape. In the edict of religious tolerance (2), the new emperor outlines his policy. The reconstruction of the temples aims to gain favor with the local population, especially to win the support of the priestly class, which is typically very influential. Repatriation (3) will overturn the policies of the Babylonian rulers. This second exodus is, from start to finish, the work of God. Not everyone will return, but only those whom God “moves” (5).