2 Chronicles 36:19–23

¹⁹Then ^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.

²⁰Those 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,

^21ato 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

^22aNow 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!’ ”