2 ARST “I, King Cyrus, rule the Persian Empire, and I say this: Yahweh, the God who is in heaven, has made me ruler over the great kingdoms of this part of the world. Now he has assigned me to{ make sure that his people} build a temple for him in{ the city of} Jerusalem in{ the province of} Judah. BSB BSB: “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judah.
3 ARST All you people who belong to God may go up to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this temple for Yahweh. He is the God who is in Jerusalem, the God whom the people of Israel worship. And may God give you success! BSB BSB: Whoever among you belongs to His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.
4 ARST There are other people who are living around the Israelites in the places where the Israelites have been living since their ancestors were exiled here. Those people must contribute silver and gold to the Israelites who go. They must also give to the Israelites animals and{ any} supplies{ that they might need}. They should also give them other gifts that they can use to help build the temple of God in Jerusalem.” BSB BSB: And let every survivor, wherever he lives, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.’”
5 ARST Then God motivated some of the priests and Levites and{ some of} the clan leaders from{ the tribes of} Judah and Benjamin to return to Jerusalem. Those whom God motivated got ready to return to Jerusalem and build the temple for him there. BSB BSB: So the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites—everyone whose spirit God had stirred—prepared to go up and rebuild the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.
6 ARST Many of their neighbors helped them by giving them silver and golden things, animals, and supplies for the journey. They also gave them other valuable gifts, and they gave them money to buy things for building the temple. BSB BSB: And all their neighbors supported them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuables, in addition to all their freewill offerings.
7 ARST King Cyrus also commanded{ his servants} to bring out the valuable things that King Nebuchadnezzar{’ s soldiers} had taken from the temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem and had put in the temples of their gods{ in Babylon}. BSB BSB: King Cyrus also brought out the articles belonging to the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the temple of his gods.
8 ARST { Specifically,} King Cyrus of Persia commanded Mithredath, his treasurer,{ to command his servants} to bring out all of these items and to give each one of them to Sheshbazzar, the leader of{ the group that was going to return to} Judah. BSB BSB: Cyrus king of Persia had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.
9 ARST This is a list of the items{ that Cyrus donated}: 30 gold basins, 1, 000 silver basins, 29 knives, BSB BSB: This was the inventory: 30 gold dishes, 1,000 silver dishes, 29 silver utensils,
10 ARST 30 gold bowls, 410 secondary silver bowls, and 1, 000 other utensils. BSB BSB: 30 gold bowls, 410 matching silver bowls, and 1,000 other articles.
11 ARST All together, Cyrus gave 5, 400 silver and gold items to Sheshbazzar to take with him when he and the others returned from{ the kingdom of} Babylon to Jerusalem. BSB BSB: In all, there were 5,400 gold and silver articles. Sheshbazzar brought all these along when the exiles went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.