"I have given leave to as many of the Jews that dwell in my country as please to return to their own country, and to rebuild their city, and to build the temple of God at Jerusalem on the same place where it was before. I have also sent my treasurer Mithridates, and Zorobabel, the governor of the Jews, that they may lay the foundations of the temple, and may build it sixty cubits high, and of the same latitude, making three edifices of polished stones, and one of the wood of the country, and the same order extends to the altar whereon they offer sacrifices to God. I require also that the expenses for these things may be given out of my revenues. Moreover, I have also sent the vessels which king Nebuchadnezzar pillaged out of the temple, and have given them to Mithridates the treasurer, and to Zorobabel the governor of the Jews, that they may have them carried to Jerusalem, and may restore them to the temple of God. Now their number is as follows: Fifty chargers of gold, and five hundred of silver; forty Thericlean cups of gold, and five hundred of silver; fifty basons of gold, and five hundred of silver; thirty vessels for pouring [the drink-offerings], and three hundred of silver; thirty vials of gold, and two thousand four hundred of silver; with a thousand other large vessels. I permit them to have the same honor which they were used to have from their forefathers, as also for their small cattle, and for wine and oil, two hundred and five thousand and five hundred drachme; and for wheat flour, twenty thousand and five hundred artabae; and I give order that these expenses shall be given them out of the tributes due from Samaria. The priests shall also offer these sacrifices according to the laws of Moses in Jerusalem; and when they offer them, they shall pray to God for the preservation of the king and of his family, that the kingdom of Persia may continue. But my will is, that those who disobey these injunctions, and make them void, shall be hung upon a cross, and their substance brought into the king's treasury."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
As quoted by Josephus in The Works of Flavius Josephus, as translated by William Whiston; Antiquities of the Jews Book XI
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cyrus_the_Great
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus the Great, also Cyrus II (c. 600 – 530 BC) was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the patron and deliverer of the Jews.
14 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Cyrus the Great →
Related Quotes
"I am Cyrus, King of the World, Great King, Mighty King, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, King of the Four Qu…"
"From [Babylon] to Aššur and (from) Susa, Agade, Ešnunna, Zamban, Me-Turnu, Der, as far as the region of Gutium, the s…"
"May all the gods whom I settled in their sacred centers ask daily of Bêl and Nâbu that my days be long and may they i…"
"Do what you want, but be prepared in that case to be ruled rather than to rule others... Soft countries breed soft me…"
"You cannot be buried in obscurity: you are exposed upon a grand theater to the view of the world. If your actions are…"
"Diversity in counsel, unity in command."
"O man, whoever you are and wherever you come from, for I know you will come, I am Cyrus who won the Persians their em…"
"Whenever you can, act as a liberator. Freedom, dignity, wealth — these three together constitute the greatest happine…"
"Success always calls for greater generosity — though most people, lost in the darkness of their own egos, treat it as…"
"Cyrus is the only foreigner in the Bible to be identified as the messiah or anointed one of Yahweh, the Israelite God…"