15 The Lord, the God of their fathers, asent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place;

16 but they continually amocked the messengers of God, bdespised His words and scoffed at His prophets, cuntil the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no remedy.

17 aTherefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand.

18 aAll the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them all to Babylon.

19 Then athey burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles.

20 Those who had escaped from the sword he acarried away to Babylon; and bthey were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia,

21 ato fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until bthe land had enjoyed its sabbaths. cAll the days of its desolation it kept sabbath 1duntil seventy years were complete.

Cyrus Permits Return

22 aNow in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to fulfill the word of the Lord bby the mouth of Jeremiah—the Lord cstirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

23 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up!’ ”