1In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia. This happened so that the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah would come true. Cyrus made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and he also put it in writing. It said:
2"This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: The LORD God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has commanded me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah."
3"Is there anyone among you who belongs to all his people? May his God be with him. Let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel (he is the God), the house that is in Jerusalem."
4"And wherever any of them still live, let the people of that place help him with silver, with gold, with goods, and with animals, as well as the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem."
5Then the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin got up, and so did the priests and the Levites. With them came everyone whose spirit God had stirred, to go up and build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.
6All their neighbours gave them strength for the work with articles of silver, with gold, with goods, with animals, and with valuable things, besides all that was freely offered.
7King Cyrus also brought out the articles from the house of the LORD. Nebuchadnezzar had carried them off from Jerusalem and had put them in the house of his gods.
8Cyrus king of Persia brought them out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.
9This is the number of them: thirty gold dishes, a thousand silver dishes, twenty-nine knives,
10thirty gold bowls, four hundred and ten silver bowls of a second kind, and a thousand other articles.