Esdras 1

VBL · Chapter 1/10

1Para que se cumpliera la profecía del Señor dada a través de Jeremías, el Señor animó a Ciro, rey de Persia, a emitir una proclama en todo su reino y también a ponerla por escrito, diciendo:

2“Esto es lo que dice Ciro, rey de Persia: ‘El Señor, el Dios de los cielos, que me ha dado todos los reinos de la tierra, me ha dado la responsabilidad de construirle un Templo en Jerusalén, en Judá.

3Cualquiera de ustedes que pertenezca a su pueblo puede ir a Jerusalén, en Judá, para reconstruir este Templo del Señor, el Dios de Israel, que vive en Jerusalén. Que su Dios esté con ustedes.

4Donde quiera que los sobrevivientes vivan actualmente, que sean ayudados por la gente de esa región con plata, oro, bienes y ganado, junto con una donación voluntaria para el Templo de Dios en Jerusalén’”.

5Entonces Dios animó a los jefes de familia de Judá y Benjamín, así como a los sacerdotes y a los levitas, a ir y reconstruir el Templo del Señor en Jerusalén.

6Todos sus vecinos les apoyaron con regalos de plata y oro, con bienes y ganado, y con otros objetos de valor, además de todas sus donaciones voluntarias.

7El rey Ciro también recuperó los objetos pertenecientes al Templo del Señor que Nabucodonosor había tomado de Jerusalén y colocado en el templo de su dios.

8Ciro hizo que Mitrídates, el tesorero, los recuperara, los contara y se los diera a Sesbasar, que era el líder de Judá.

9Esta era la lista: 30 cuencas de oro, 1.000 cuencas de plata, 29 cubiertos de plata,

1030 cuencos de oro, 410 cuencos de plata a juego y otros 1.000 artículos.

11En total había 5.400 objetos de oro y plata. Cuando los exiliados salieron de Babilonia para ir a Jerusalén Sesbasar se llevó todo esto con ellos.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Persian king Cyrus decrees that the Jews may return from exile in Babylon and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. He returns the sacred vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had stolen.

Explanation

After 70 years of exile in Babylon, the Jews receive unexpected news: the new emperor of the known world, Cyrus of Persia, sets them free to return home. This fulfills a prophecy of Jeremiah and shows that God uses even pagan rulers to accomplish his purposes. Cyrus is historically known for his policy of allowing conquered peoples to return to their lands and worship their gods, which confirms the historical reliability of this account. Today this reminds us that political circumstances that seem beyond our control can be the very path God uses to open doors of restoration.

Fun facts

  • Cyrus's decree (539 BC) is confirmed by a famous archaeological find, the Cyrus Cylinder, which records his policy of returning exiled peoples and temples to their places of origin.
  • Sheshbazzar, called here 'the prince of Judah,' is probably another name or title for Zerubbabel, who leads the group that returns.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Esdras 1:1Cyrus was the Persian king who had just conquered Babylon, and it is he who authorizes the Jews to return home after decades of exile. The text makes a point of saying that this fulfilled a word of Jeremiah: the return is not just Persian politics, it is read as a promise coming true. The same Cyrus who appears in Persian chronicles as a conqueror is portrayed here as moving under an inspiration greater than himself.
  2. Esdras 1:2Cyrus credits “the Lord God of heaven” with power over all the kingdoms of the earth, saying it was this God who charged him to rebuild the house in Jerusalem. A polytheistic Persian king speaking the religious language of another people, a common move in the diplomacy of the time.
  3. Esdras 1:3Cyrus's decree forces no one: he invites whoever is willing, among God's people, to go up to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. The return from exile begins as a voluntary choice, not as an order for mass deportation.
  4. Esdras 1:4The Jews who decided to stay in Babylon also had a task: to help the neighbors who were leaving with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, besides freewill offerings for the temple. No one was left out of the effort, not even those who remained far from Jerusalem.
  5. Esdras 1:5Those who rise up to return are the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, the priests, and the Levites — and the text says it was God who stirred up their spirit, the same way He had stirred up Cyrus's spirit back in verse 1.
  6. Esdras 1:6The neighbors help those leaving with silver, gold, goods, livestock, and valuables, on top of what was already given freely. The scene recalls another exodus, when the Egyptians also handed over riches to the Israelites as they left Egypt.
  7. Esdras 1:7These sacred vessels had sat for decades inside a pagan temple in Babylon, after Nebuchadnezzar stole them from Jerusalem. Now Cyrus orders them removed and returned to the people going home.
  8. Esdras 1:8Mithredath was the king's own treasurer, charged with counting out and handing over the sacred objects. Sheshbazzar receives the title “the prince of Judah”: he is the leader who will bring the people and the vessels back to Jerusalem. Returning these objects was not just a religious gesture; it was also a way for the new king to show himself different from the old one, who had stolen them.
  9. Esdras 1:9Here the official inventory begins: thirty gold basins, a thousand silver basins, and twenty-nine knives, each piece carefully counted before the long journey back to Jerusalem.
  10. Esdras 1:10The list of vessels continues: thirty gold bowls, four hundred and ten silver bowls of a second kind, and a thousand other objects — a detailed inventory that would later prove nothing had been lost along the way.
  11. Esdras 1:11Five thousand four hundred vessels of gold and silver may seem like an exaggerated number for a people returning from exile, but it shows how much Nebuchadnezzar had carried off from the temple decades earlier. Sheshbazzar is the one who carries all of it on the journey from Babylon to Jerusalem. It is this detailed inventory that later proves the restitution was complete.

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