Ezra 1:1-4

The Decree of Cyrus

1:1 ¹In the first² year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the Lord’s message³ spoken through⁴ Jeremiah,⁵ the Lord stirred the mind⁶ of King Cyrus of Persia. He disseminated⁷ a proclamation⁸ throughout his entire kingdom, announcing in a written edict⁹ the following:¹⁰

1:2 “Thus says King Cyrus of Persia:

“‘The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has instructed me to build a temple¹¹ for him in Jerusalem,¹² which is in Judah. 1:3 Anyone from¹³ his people among you (may his God be with him!) may go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may build the temple of the Lord God of Israel – he is the God who is in Jerusalem. 1:4 Anyone who survives in any of those places where he is a resident foreigner must be helped by his neighbors¹⁴ with silver, gold, equipment, and animals, along with voluntary offerings for the temple of God which is in Jerusalem.’”

Mazmur 147:2

147:2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem,¹⁵

and gathers the exiles of Israel.

Yeremia 32:37-44

32:37 ‘I will certainly regather my people from all the countries where I will have exiled¹⁶ them in my anger, fury, and great wrath. I will bring them back to this place and allow them to live here in safety. 32:38 They will be my people, and I will be their God.¹⁷ 32:39 I will give them a single-minded purpose to live in a way that always shows respect for me. They will want to do that for¹⁸ their own good and the good of the children who descend from them. 32:40 I will make a lasting covenant¹⁹ with them that I will never stop doing good to them.²⁰ I will fill their hearts and minds with respect for me so that²¹ they will never again turn²² away from me. 32:41 I will take delight in doing good to them. I will faithfully and wholeheartedly plant them²³ firmly in the land.’

32:42 “For I, the Lord, say:²⁴ ‘I will surely bring on these people all the good fortune that I am hereby promising them. I will be just as sure to do that as I have been in bringing all this great disaster on them.²⁵ 32:43 You and your people²⁶ are saying that this land will become desolate, uninhabited by either people or animals. You are saying that it will be handed over to the Babylonians.²⁷ But fields²⁸ will again be bought in this land.²⁹ 32:44 Fields will again be bought with silver, and deeds of purchase signed, sealed, and witnessed. This will happen in the territory of Benjamin, the villages surrounding Jerusalem, the towns in Judah, the southern hill country, the western foothills, and southern Judah.³⁰ For I will restore them to their land.³¹ I, the Lord, affirm it!’”³²

Yehezkiel 34:12-13

34:12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy, dark day.³³ 34:13 I will bring them out from among the peoples and gather them from foreign countries; I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams and all the inhabited places of the land.

Yehezkiel 36:24

36:24 “‘I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries; then I will bring you to your land.

Zakharia 8:7-8

8:7 “The Lord who rules over all asserts, ‘I am about to save my people from the lands of the east and the west. 8:8 And I will bring them to settle within Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God,³⁴ in truth and righteousness.’