Ezra 5:13-16

5:13 But in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon, ¹  King Cyrus enacted a decree to rebuild this temple of God. 5:14 Even the gold and silver vessels of the temple of God that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and had brought to the palace ²  of Babylon – even those things King Cyrus brought from the palace of Babylon and presented ³  to a man by the name of Sheshbazzar whom he had appointed as governor. 5:15 He said to him, “Take these vessels and go deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt in its proper location.” ⁴  5:16 Then this Sheshbazzar went and laid the foundations of the temple of God in Jerusalem. From that time to the present moment ⁵  it has been in the process of being rebuilt, although it is not yet finished.’

[5:13]  ¹ sn Cyrus was actually a Persian king, but when he conquered Babylon in 539 b.c. he apparently appropriated to himself the additional title “king of Babylon.” The Syriac Peshitta substitutes “Persia” for “Babylon” here, but this is probably a hyper-correction.

[5:14]  ² tn Or “temple.”

[5:14]  ³ tn Aram “they were given.”

[5:15]  ⁴ tn Aram “upon its place.”

[5:16]  ⁵ tn Aram “from then and until now.”