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2 Chronicles 36:23

36:22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.

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“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given all the kingdoms of the earth to me; and he has commanded me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, Yahweh his God be with him, and let him go up.’”

Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The Lord his God be with him, and let him go up.

Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth has the LORD God of heaven given me; and he has charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.

What does 2 Chronicles 36:23 mean?

2 Chronicles 36:23 is a verse in the book of 2 Chronicles, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include אָמַר (ʼâmar), כּוֹרֶשׁ (Kôwresh), מֶלֶךְ (melek). It connects to 18 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

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Thus
saithאָמַרʼâmar/aw-mar'/H559to say (used with great latitude)
CyrusכּוֹרֶשׁKôwresh/ko'-resh/H3566Koresh (or Cyrus), the Persian king
kingמֶלֶךְmelek/meh'-lek/H4428a king
of
Persia,פָּרַסPâraç/paw-ras'/H6539Paras (i.e. Persia), an Eastern country, including its inhabitants
All
the
kingdomsמַמְלָכָהmamlâkâh/mam-law-kaw'/H4467dominion, i.e. (abstractly) the estate (rule) or (concretely) the country (realm)
of
the
earthאֶרֶץʼerets/eh'-rets/H776the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
hath
the
LORDיְהֹוָהYᵉhôvâh/yeh-ho-vaw'/H3068Jehovah, Jewish national name of God
Godאֱלֹהִיםʼĕlôhîym/el-o-heem'/H430gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
of
heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim/shaw-mah'-yim/H8064the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve)
givenנָתַןnâthan/naw-than'/H5414to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etc.)
me;
and
he
hath
chargedפָּקַדpâqad/paw-kad'/H6485to visit (with friendly or hostile intent); by analogy, to oversee, muster, charge, care for, miss, deposit, etc.
me
to
buildבָּנָהbânâh/baw-naw'/H1129to build (literally and figuratively)
him
an
houseבַּיִתbayith/bah'-yith/H1004a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.)
in
Jerusalem,יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִםYᵉrûwshâlaim/yer-oo-shaw-lah'-im/H3389Jerushalaim or Jerushalem, the capital city of Palestine
which
is
in
Judah.יְהוּדָהYᵉhûwdâh/yeh-hoo-daw'/H3063Jehudah (or Judah), the name of five Israelites; also of the tribe descended from the first, and of its territory
Who
is
there
among
you
of
all
his
people?עַםʻam/am/H5971a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock
The
LORDיְהֹוָהYᵉhôvâh/yeh-ho-vaw'/H3068Jehovah, Jewish national name of God
his
Godאֱלֹהִיםʼĕlôhîym/el-o-heem'/H430gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
be
with
him,
and
let
him
go
up.עָלָהʻâlâh/aw-law'/H5927to ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount); used in a great variety of senses, primary and secondary, literal and figurative

Commentary on 2 Chronicles 36:23

CLARKE · whole chapter
igns wickedly three months and ten days, and is also led captive to Babylon, 2Chr 36:9 , 2Chr 36:10 . Zedekiah begins to reign, and reigns wickedly eleven years, 2Chr 36:11 , 2Chr 36:12 . He rebels against Nebuchadnezzar, and he and his people cast all the fear of God behind their backs; the wrath of God comes upon them to the uttermost; their temple us destroyed; and the whole nation is subjugated, and led into captivity, 2Chr 36:13-21 . Cyrus, king of Persia, makes a proclamation to rebuild the temple of the Lord, 2Chr 36:22 , 2Chr 36:23 . Verse 1 Took Jehoahaz - It seems that after Necho had discomfited Josiah, he proceeded immediately against Charchemish, and in the interim, Josiah dying of his wounds, the people made his son king. Verse 3 The king of Egypt put him down - He now considered Judah to be conquered, and tributary to him and because the people had set up Jehoahaz without his consent, he dethroned him, and put his brother in his place, perhaps for no other reason but to show his supremacy. For other particulars, see the notes on 2Kgs 23:31-35 (note). Verse 6 Came up Nebuchadnezzar - See the notes on 2Kgs 24:1 . Archbishop Usher believes that Jehoiakim remained three years after this tributary to the Chaldeans, and that it is from this period that the seventy years' captivity, predicted by Jeremiah, is to be reckoned. Verse 9 Jehoiachin was eight - See on 2Kgs 24:6-15 (note). Verse 10 Made Zedekiah - king - His name was at first Mattaniah, but the king of Babylon changed it to Zedekiah. See 2Kgs 24:17 (note), and the notes there. Verse 12 Did that which was evil - Was there ever such a set of weak, infatuated men as the Jewish kings in general? They had the fullest evidence that they were only deputies to God Almighty, and that they could not expect to retain the throne any longer than they were faithful to their Lord; and yet with all this conviction they lived wickedly, and endeavored to establish idolatry in the place of the worship of their Maker! After bearing with them long, the Divine mercy gave them up, as their case was utterly hopeless. They sinned till there was no remedy. Verse 19 They burnt the house of God - Here was an end to the temple; the most superb and costly edifice ever erected by man. Brake down the wall of Jerusalem - So it ceased to be a fortified city. Burnt all the palaces - So it was no longer a dwelling-place for kings or great men. Destroyed all the goodly vessels - Beat up all the silver and gold into masses, keeping only a few of the finest in their own shape. See 2Chr 36:18 . Verse 21 To fulfill the word of the Lord - See Jer 25:9 , Jer 25:12 ; Jer 26:6 , Jer 26:7 ; Jer 29:12 . For the miserable death of Zedekiah, see 2Kgs 25:4 , etc. Verse 22 Now in the first year of Cyrus - This and the following verse are supposed to have been written by mistake from the book of Ezra, which begins in the same way. The book of the Chronicles, properly speaking, does close with the twenty-first verse, as then the Babylonish captivity commences, and these two verses speak of the transactions of a period seventy years after. This was in the first year of the reign of Cyrus over the empire of the East which is reckoned to be A.M. 3468. But he was king of Persia from the year 3444 or 3445. See Calmet and Usher. Verse 23 The Lord his God be with him - "Let the Word of the Lord be his helper, and let him go up." - Targum. See the notes on the beginning of Ezra. Thus ends the history of a people the most fickle, the most ungrateful, and perhaps on the whole the most sinful, that ever existed on the face of the earth. But what a display does all this give of the power, justice, mercy, and long-suffering of the Lord! There was no people like this people, and no God like their God.
HENRY_FULL · 2 Chronicles 36:22–23
Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, 23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The Lord his God be with him, and let him go up. These last two verses of this book have a double aspect. 1. They look back to the prophecy of Jeremiah, and show how that was accomplished, v. 22 . God had, by him, promised the restoring of the captives and the rebuilding of Jerusalem, at the end of seventy years; and that time to favour Sion, that set time, came at last. After a long and dark night the day-spring from on high visited them. God will be found true to every word he has spoken. 2. They look forward to the history of Ezra, which begins with the repetition of these last two verses . They are there the introduction to a pleasant story; here they are the conclusion of a very melancholy one; and so we learn from them that, though God's church be cast down, it is not cast off, though his people be corrected, they are not abandoned, though thrown into the furnace, yet not lost there, nor left there any longer than till the dross be separated. Though God contend long, he will not contend always. The Israel of God shall be fetched out of Babylon in due time, and even the dry bones made to live. It may be long first; but the vision is for an appointed time, and at the end it shall speak and not lie; therefore, though it tarry, wait for it.

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Genesis 20:7

Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.

Genesis 20:17

So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.

Exodus 12:43

And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:

Exodus 34:6

And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

Numbers 9:10

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD.

Numbers 14:18

The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

Numbers 19:20

But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.

2 Chronicles 6:21

Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive. make: Heb. pray

2 Chronicles 36:11

Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.

Job 42:8

Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job. him: Heb. his face, or, person

Job 42:9

So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job. Job: Heb. the face of Job

Psalms 25:8

Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.

Psalms 36:5

Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.

Daniel 9:19

O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

1 Corinthians 11:28

But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

James 5:15James 5:161 John 5:16

Topics

CyrusMedo-Persian KingdomProclamation

People & places in this verse

People

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with 2 Chronicles 36:23.

Genesis 1:11

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. grass: Heb. tender grass

Genesis 1:20

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. moving: or, creeping life: Heb. soul fowl: Heb. let fowl fly open: Heb. face of the firmament of heaven

Genesis 1:22

And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

Genesis 1:24

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

Genesis 1:26

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Genesis 1:28

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. moveth: Heb. creepeth

Genesis 1:29

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. bearing: Heb. seeding seed yielding: Heb. seeding seed

Genesis 2:16

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: thou: Heb. eating thou shalt eat

Frequently asked questions

What does 2 Chronicles 36:23 say?

2 Chronicles 36:23 (King James Version) reads: "Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up."

Is 2 Chronicles 36:23 in the Old or New Testament?

2 Chronicles 36:23 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of 2 Chronicles.

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