This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the world. And he has ordered me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem (which is in Judah). May the Lord God be with all of you who are his people. You may go.
But evil will happen to you. You won’t know how to keep it away. Disaster will strike you. You won’t be able to stop it. Destruction will overtake you suddenly. You won’t expect it.
I will bring on that land all the disasters I threatened to do to it, everything that Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations, everything written in this book.
Another kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to power after you. Then there will be a third kingdom, a kingdom of bronze, that will rule the whole world.