What did Cyrus the Persian decree for the Jews after their 70-year captivity?
Cyrus, king of Persia, decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem after their 70-year captivity. The decree permitted them to rebuild the temple, restore temple worship, and reestablish their national entity, though still under his sovereignty. This fulfilled the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.
Les explains that after Nebuchadnezzar overran the southern kingdom of Judah and emptied the land, the Jews ended up in captivity for 70 years. At the end of that period, as previously mentioned from Chronicles, Cyrus, the king of Persia, made a decree that the Jews could go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, reestablish temple worship, and reestablish their national entity under his sovereignty. Ezra 1:1 connects this to the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled; Les notes that God had said it years before it happened.
More Questions
Why did Cyrus issue his decree allowing the Jews to return?
Cyrus's decree in his first year was for the purpose of fulfilling the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah.