Ezra 1:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Douay-RheimsHebrew (Masoretic text)

Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Juda and Benjamin, and the priests, and Levites, and every one whose spirit God had raised up, to go up to build the temple of the Lord, which was in Jerusalem.
Douay-Rheims

וַיָּק֜וּמוּ רָאשֵׁ֣י הָאָב֗וֹת לִֽיהוּדָה֙ וּבִנְיָמִ֔ן וְהַכֹּהֲנִ֖ים וְהַלְוִיִּ֑ם לְכֹ֨ל הֵעִ֤יר הָאֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־רוּח֔וֹ לַעֲל֣וֹת לִבְנ֔וֹת אֶת־בֵּ֥ית יְהוָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בִּירוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃
Hebrew (Masoretic text)

The Church Fathers on this verse

One Church Father comments on this verse

Dimitri of Rostov

17th centuryChurch Father

The proclamation made by Cyrus, the monarch of Persia, to liberate the Jews held captive in Babylon was akin to a message of great joy. Those who had been suffering in a foreign land, described as being ‘in darkness and in the shadow of death, shackled with sorrow’ (Psalm 106:10), quickly returned to their homeland. Cyrus ruled from 559 to 530 B.C., and his compassion towards the Jewish people can be understood through the revelation given to him by Daniel, regarding Isaiah's prophecy (Isaiah 44:28, Isaiah 45:1). This foresight announced the Jews' deliverance from bondage over a century and a half prior.

Cross references

Passages read together with this verse.