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.

2 CHRONICLES 36:23KJV
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2 Chronicles 36:23 (KJV)

What does 2 Chronicles 36:23 mean?

2 Chronicles 36:23 records Cyrus, king of Persia, giving God’s people permission to go to Jerusalem. Cyrus says that the LORD has given him his kingdoms and instructed him to build a house for God there. His words open a way for people taken away from Judah to return.

Cyrus presents his order as a response to a charge from God. The “house” means the temple in Jerusalem, where God’s people had worshipped before its destruction. His closing words, “let him go up,” invite members of God’s people to make the journey.

The Hebrew behind 2 Chronicles 36:23

  • “charged” — פָּקַד (paqad): This word can carry the sense of appointing or assigning a task. Here Cyrus presents the building of the temple as a responsibility God has given him.
  • “house” — בַּיִת (bayit): This word can mean a house or a building. In this verse, it refers to a building for God rather than an ordinary home.
  • “up” — עָלָה (ʿalah): This word carries the sense of ascending. Jerusalem stood in the hill country, so going there could be described as going up.

Why 2 Chronicles 36:23 matters

  • Cyrus addresses the invitation to the people who belong to the LORD. His question, “Who is there among you of all his people?” makes the invitation personal, even though the order comes from a king.
  • The verse ends with an opening rather than an account of the journey. “The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up” leaves readers with Cyrus’s permission and blessing.

Where else these words appear

“Cyrus” Hebrew H3566 · used in 13 verses

  • 2 Chronicles 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,
  • Ezra 1:8 Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.
  • Isaiah 44:28 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.

“Persia” Hebrew H6539 · used in 24 verses

  • 2 Chronicles 36:20 And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:
  • Ezra 4:5 And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
  • Esther 10:2 And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?

“kingdoms” Hebrew H4467 · used in 113 verses

  • Genesis 10:10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
  • 2 Kings 14:5 And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, that he slew his servants which had slain the king his father.
  • Isaiah 14:16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;