CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Ezra 1 CEV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/ezra/1.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/ezra/1-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">CEV</a> > Ezra 1</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../2_chronicles/36.htm" title="2 Chronicles 36">◄</a> Ezra 1 <a href="../ezra/2.htm" title="Ezra 2">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Contemporary English Version</div><div class="chap"><h3 class="s1">Cyrus Lets the Jews Return Home</h3><p class="par"><span class="v15_1_1"><span class="reftext" id="Ezra.1.1" class="v15_1_1">1</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Ezra.1.1!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Years ago the <span class="nd">Lord</span> sent Jeremiah with a message about a promise<a href="#fn" id="link_Ezra.1.1!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> for the people of Israel. Then in the first year that Cyrus was king of Persia,<a href="#fn" id="link_Ezra.1.1!f.3" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> the <span class="nd">Lord</span> kept his promise by telling Cyrus to send this official message to all parts of his kingdom:</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v15_1_2"><span class="reftext" id="Ezra.1.2-Ezra.1.3" class="v15_1_2">2-3</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Ezra.1.2-Ezra.1.3!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> I am King Cyrus of Persia.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v15_1_2">The <span class="nd">Lord</span> God of heaven, who is also the God of Israel, has made me the ruler of all nations on earth. And he has chosen me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. The <span class="nd">Lord</span> God will watch over and encourage any of his people who want to go back to Jerusalem and help build the temple.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v15_1_4"><span class="reftext" id="Ezra.1.4" class="v15_1_4">4</span>Everyone else must provide what is needed. They must give money, supplies, and animals, as well as gifts for rebuilding God's temple.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v15_1_5"><span class="reftext" id="Ezra.1.5" class="v15_1_5">5</span>Many people felt that the <span class="nd">Lord</span> God wanted them to help rebuild his temple, and they made plans to go to Jerusalem. Among them were priests, Levites, and leaders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. </span><span class="v15_1_6"><span class="reftext" id="Ezra.1.6" class="v15_1_6">6</span>The others helped by giving silver articles, gold, personal possessions, cattle, and other valuable gifts, as well as offerings for the temple.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v15_1_7"><span class="reftext" id="Ezra.1.7" class="v15_1_7">7</span>King Cyrus gave back the things that Nebuchadnezzar<a href="#fn" id="link_Ezra.1.7!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> had taken from the <span class="nd">Lord</span>'s temple in Jerusalem and had put in the temple of his own gods. </span><span class="v15_1_8"><span class="reftext" id="Ezra.1.8" class="v15_1_8">8</span>Cyrus placed Mithredath, his chief treasurer, in charge of these things. Mithredath counted them and gave a list to Sheshbazzar, the governor of Judah. </span><span class="v15_1_9"><span class="reftext" id="Ezra.1.9-Ezra.1.10" class="v15_1_9">9-10</span>Included among them were: 30 large gold dishes; 1,000 large silver dishes; 29 other dishes;<a href="#fn" id="link_Ezra.1.9-Ezra.1.10!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> 30 gold bowls; 410 silver bowls; and 1,000 other articles.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v15_1_11"><span class="reftext" id="Ezra.1.11" class="v15_1_11">11</span>Altogether, there were 5,400 gold and silver dishes, bowls, and other articles. Sheshbazzar took them with him when he and the others returned to Jerusalem from Babylonia.</span></p> <a name="fn"></a><br /><br /><br /><b>Footnotes:<br /><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.1 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">a promise: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">That the people of Israel would be set free from Babylonia after 70 years (see Jeremiah 25.11; 29.10).</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.1 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">the first year that Cyrus was king of Persia: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Probably 539 <char style="sc">b.c.</char>, when Cyrus captured Babylonia. He had actually ruled Persia since 549 <char style="sc">b.c.</char></char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.7 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Nebuchadnezzar: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Known as Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled Babylonia from 605 to 562 <char style="sc">b.c.</char> In 586 <char style="sc">b.c.</char> he destroyed Jerusalem and took many of its people to Babylonia.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.9,10 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">other dishes: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Or “knives.”</char></note></div></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Bible text from the Contemporary English Version 2nd Edition (CEV®) is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by American Bible Society, 101 North Independence Mall East, Floor 8, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2155 (<a href="http://www.americanbible.org">www.americanbible.org</a>). Learn more at <a href="http://www.cev.bible">www.cev.bible</a>. Discover .BIBLE resources for your ministry at <a href="http://www.get.bible/cev">www.get.bible/cev</a></span></p><br /><br /><a href="/">Bible Hub</a><br /><br /><br /></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../2_chronicles/36.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="2 Chronicles 36"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="2 Chronicles 36" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../ezra/2.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Ezra 2"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Ezra 2" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mpc/ezra/1-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><iframe width="122" height="860" scrolling="no" src="../sidemenu.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchapnoad.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>