Ezra and Nehemiah

In his first year as king of Persia, Cyrus the Great issued a decree in writing to the Israelite exiles living under his rule: The God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build a temple for Him in Jerusalem. Any of his people may go up to Jerusalem in Judah to build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel. And in any place where survivors may now be living, the people of Persia are to provide them with silver, gold, goods, livestock, and offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem. - Ezra 1:2-4 (paraphrased). Decades later, in the twentieth year of…