22Now in the first year of [1]Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, 23Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD, the God of heaven, given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all his people, the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.
22. Cyrus king of Persia] Cyrus, the Persian, was at first king of a small state in Elam, to the east of Babylonia. In 549 B.C. he conquered the king of the Medes, and so became founder of the Medo-Persian Empire. In 546 B.C. he overthrew the famous Croesus, king of Lydia, and advancing against Babylon entered it after a short and easy campaign in 538 B.C.—a career of meteoric brilliance. By his "first year" is meant 537 B.C., his first year as ruler of the Babylonian Empire.
stirred up the spirit] Cp. 1 Chr. v. 26; Haggai i. 14.
made a proclamation] Cp. xxx. 5. The phrase is characteristic of the Chronicler.
23. All the kingdoms of the earth] The king of Babylon bore the title of "king of the four quarters of the world." Cyrus succeeded to this title on his conquest of Babylon.
let him go up] i.e. to Jerusalem; cp. Ezra i. 3. Since Chronicles is the last book according to the order of the Hebrew Canon, these encouraging words conclude the Hebrew Bible.
- ↑ Heb. Coresh.
