Ezra 1:1

God's Word

The promise the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah was about to come true in Cyrus’ first year as king of Persia. The Lord inspired the king to make this announcement throughout his whole kingdom and then to put it in writing.

Cross References

Ezra 1:5

Then the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, the priests, and the Levites—everyone God had inspired—came forward to rebuild the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem.

Ezra 4:3

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of Israel’s families told them, “It isn’t right for your people and our people to build a temple for our God together. We must build it alone for the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus of Persia ordered us to do.”

Ezra 6:14

So the Jewish leaders continued to make progress because of the message from the prophet Haggai and Zechariah, the grandson of Iddo. They finished building as the God of Israel had ordered and as Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes (the kings of Persia) had ordered.

Ezra 6:22

So for seven days they celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread because the Lord had made them joyful. The Lord had made the king of Assyria change his mind so that he supported the people in their work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.

Ezra 6:3

Date: Cyrus’ first year as king From: King Cyrus Subject: God’s temple in Jerusalem The temple should be rebuilt as a place to offer sacrifices. Its foundation should be laid. It should be 90 feet high and 90 feet wide

Ezra 7:27

⌞I, Ezra, said:⌟ Thanks be to the Lord God of our ancestors. He put this into the king’s mind to make the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem beautiful.

Psalm 106:46

He let them find compassion from all those who held them captive.

Proverbs 21:1

The king’s heart is like streams of water. Both are under the Lord’s control. He turns them in any direction he chooses.

Isaiah 44:28

He says about Cyrus, “He is my shepherd. He will do everything I want him to do.” He says about Jerusalem, “It will be rebuilt.” He says about the temple, “Your foundation will be laid.”

Isaiah 45:1

This is what the Lord says about Cyrus, his  anointed one: I have held him by his right hand so he could conquer the nations ahead of him, strip kings of their power, and open doors ahead of him so that the gates would not be shut.

Jeremiah 1:1

⌞These are⌟ the words of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah. He was one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.

Jeremiah 29:10

This is what the Lord says: When Babylon’s 70 years are over, I will come to you. I will keep my promise to you and bring you back to this place.

Ezekiel 38:5

Persia, Sudan, and Put will be with you. They, too, will have shields and helmets.

Daniel 1:21

Daniel served the royal palace until the first year of King Cyrus ⌞of Persia⌟.

Daniel 2:1

During the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, he had some dreams. He was troubled, but he stayed asleep.

Daniel 6:25

Then King Darius wrote to the people of every province, nation, and language all over the world: I wish you peace and prosperity.

Daniel 9:2

In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from the Scriptures the number of years that Jerusalem would remain in ruins. The Lord had told the prophet Jeremiah that Jerusalem would remain in ruins for 70 years.

John 1:23

John said, “I’m a voice crying out in the desert, ‘Make the way for the Lord straight,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”