Ezra 1

1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the LORD’s word by Jeremiah’s mouth might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,

2 “Cyrus king of Persia says, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he has commanded me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

3 Whoever there 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 build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel (he is God), which is in Jerusalem.

4 Whoever is left, in any place where he lives, let the men of his place help him with silver, with gold, with goods, and with animals, in addition to the free will offering for God’s house which is in Jerusalem.’”

5 Then the heads of fathers’ households of Judah and Benjamin, the priests and the Levites, all whose spirit God had stirred to go up, rose up to build the LORD’s house which is in Jerusalem.

6 All those who were around them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with animals, and with precious things, in addition to all that was willingly offered.

7 Also Cyrus the king brought out the vessels of the LORD’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought out of Jerusalem, and had put in the house of his gods;

8 even those, Cyrus king of Persia brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.

9 This is the number of them: thirty platters of gold, one thousand platters of silver, twenty-nine knives,

10 thirty bowls of gold, four hundred ten silver bowls of a second kind, and one thousand other vessels.

11 All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand four hundred. Sheshbazzar brought all these up when the captives were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Around Ezra 1

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

Ezra 1 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

Judah is in exile, and the first word of the book is about a king far from Jerusalem. In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, the LORD stirs the king’s spirit, so that the word spoken through Jeremiah may be accomplished. Cyrus sends a proclamation throughout his kingdom, in writing too. It says the LORD, the God of heaven, has given him all the kingdoms of the earth and has commanded him to build a house in Jerusalem. Anyone of God’s people may go up, and those who stay behind should help with silver, gold, goods and animals.

People respond. The heads of families of Judah and Benjamin, with priests and Levites, all whose spirit God had stirred, rise up to build. Their neighbors strengthen their hands with gifts. Cyrus also brings out the vessels of the LORD’s house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken to the house of his gods, and counts them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. They total five thousand four hundred, and Sheshbazzar carries them up to Jerusalem.

Background

Ezra opens where 2 Chronicles 36 ends, with the same decree of Cyrus. The book is usually dated to the Persian period, and tradition links its writing to Ezra the priest. Cyrus is shown here as a ruler through whom God works, and the text says so plainly. The returned vessels show that the temple is being given back its worship, and the next chapter lists the people who go up.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 2 November 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes