In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows: "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. 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.
who says of Cyrus, 'My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,' who says of Jerusalem, 'She will be rebuilt,' and of the temple, 'Let its foundation be laid.'"
Significance
Isaiah 44:28 prophesies that Cyrus will say of Jerusalem "She will be rebuilt" and of the temple "Let its foundation be laid." Ezra 1:1-3 records the direct fulfillment: Cyrus's decree states "The LORD, the God of heaven... has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem." The verbal correspondence between prophecy and fulfillment is striking: Isaiah promises a foundation-laying decree; Ezra records its issuance. Ezra adds that "the LORD stirred the spirit of Cyrus" (הֵעִיר יְהוָה אֶת־רוּחַ, he'ir YHWH et-ruach), making explicit that the pagan king's political decree was the result of divine initiative, exactly as Isaiah 44:28-45:1 portrayed Cyrus as God's chosen instrument.
