Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Ezra 1:2 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 2. 2Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse quotes Cyrus crediting the God of heaven and announcing a Jerusalem temple charge
Read It With
- Ezra 1:1–4
Read Ezra 1:1–4 together. This verse quotes Cyrus crediting the God of heaven and announcing a Jerusalem temple charge Read Ezra 1:1–4 as one complete Ezra thought unit: In Cyrus's first year over Babylon, the narrator attributes the proclamation to the LORD's fulfillment of Jeremiah: Judeans may return to Jerusalem to rebuild, and neighbors are to support them.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The proclamation establishes divine purpose working through imperial permission while preserving the difference between God's purpose, Cyrus's rhetoric, and the returnees' voluntary response. Within that movement, this verse quotes Cyrus crediting the God of heaven and announcing a Jerusalem temple charge
Read Ezra 1:1–4 together
Why these verses belong together: The date, Jeremiah connection, divine stirring, royal speech, permission to go up, temple charge, and neighbor support form one proclamation; verse 5 begins the human response.
Verse 1. 1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, 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,
Verse 2. 2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
Verse 3. 3 Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.
Verse 4. 4 And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.
Follow the Context
- The narrator dates Cyrus and connects the event to Jeremiah's word.
- The LORD stirs Cyrus to publish a written proclamation across the kingdom.
- Cyrus authorizes members of God's people to build in Jerusalem and directs local support for those who go.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Ezra 1:2 does not authorize a conclusion that exceeds Ezra 1:1–4. The unit's explicit boundary is: Cyrus's proclamation does not prove that he converted to Israel's faith.
What Remains True
Within Ezra's own literary movement, Ezra 1:2 quotes Cyrus crediting the God of heaven and announcing a Jerusalem temple charge.
How It Can Shape Life
- Receive lawful openings for restoration with gratitude while testing official rhetoric, protecting voluntary participation, and refusing to sanctify an empire or leader. Ezra 1:2 especially directs attention to how this verse quotes Cyrus crediting the God of heaven and announcing a Jerusalem temple charge.
Teach It Back
Explain Ezra 1:2's precise role in Ezra 1:1–4. Include its Persian-period, temple, Torah, identity, administrative, or family context as relevant, one material uncertainty, and one conclusion it does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Ezra 1:1–4 — Cyrus issues a written proclamationSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Cyrus's first-person religious claim does not reveal his private faith with certainty.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Ezra 1:1–4, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew aramaic text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Ezra
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic wording, morphology, names, clause relations, and translation controls.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ezra.xml, Hebrew and Aramaic words and morphology for 1:1–4
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Ezra with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Material lexical, grammatical, textual, Persian-period, numerical, and translation notes within the unit.
Exact location: NET Bible Ezra PDF, printed pp. 748–749, translation and translator notes on 1:1–4
Open source ↗