Ezra 1

In the first year of Cyrus, to fulfill the LORD’s word through Jeremiah, God stirs up the Persian king’s spirit, and Cyrus issues a written decree: the God of heaven has charged him to build a house in Jerusalem, and any of God’s people may go up to do it. The exiles’ leaders, priests, and Levites are moved by God to prepare, their neighbors help with silver, gold, and goods, and Cyrus returns the temple vessels Nebuchadnezzar had carried off, entrusting them to Sheshbazzar.