That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
God says about Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, and he will accomplish everything I want him to do. He will say to Jerusalem, You will be rebuilt, and to the temple, Your foundation will be laid.'
God is declaring that He will use a foreign king named Cyrus as His chosen leader to rebuild Jerusalem and restore the temple.
📚 Historical Context
In the book of Isaiah, written during the 8th century BC when the kingdom of Judah faced threats from Assyrian and Babylonian empires, the prophet foretells that God would use a future Persian king named Cyrus to restore His people. This prophecy was made long before Cyrus's rise to power, predicting that he would defeat Babylon and allow the exiled Jews to return and rebuild Jerusalem's walls and temple. Historically, this came to pass in 538 BC when Cyrus issued a decree enabling the Jews' return, as recorded in the books of Ezra and Chronicles.
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