c To wir, in thoſe parts of the Wor'd ; all that vaſt Empire for- merly under the Afſyrians and B bylomans. The Gift of which | he aſcribes ro the grear God eitaer by virtue of thoſe common Notions which were in the Minds of the Heathens, who thongh they » orſhipp:i Idols, yet many of them did acknowledge a true and ſupre:m Grd : Or by that clezr and expreſs Prophecy of 1/aiah C'onN- re:1ng him, Iſa. 44 28. & 45+ I, 33. ſo long before he was born ; which Prop iecy the Jews had doubrleſly ſhewed him, which alſo carried a great evidence with it, eſpecially to him who was ſo higi:ly grarified and encouraged by it: or by a ſpecial Illuminati: on wich God vouchſaf:d to-him, as he did to Nebuchadnezzar and Darius, and ſ»me others of the Heathen Princes. &4 Either by his ; Prophets, 1/aiah 'ormerly, or Daniel now ; or by an inward ſuge geftzon to his Mind.
2 Who 3s there among" you of all his People 4? his God be with him e, and let him go up to Jeruſalem,
* > Chron. 29. 22. Jer. 25. 12 & 29. Io.
'T Heb.
' Cavjed a Unice 10
FLA
* Th. 44- 28+» & 45. T3.
| 2. 2. why alſ> did carejully keep them, and faithfully tray. G , the Oracles of GO D, Kem. 3. 2. wh? al; / :nimous conſent of ali, both J:ws and Chriſtians, at this day. And that Ezra
was, the opinion of the Jews, who had the beft means of knowing this, and i: moſt ,preeavle to bis 45 the word is elſewhere ujed ) of Seraiah, Ezra. 7. 1.
= gn ; . imielf an Eye- witneſs of theſe Tranſattion« : : is evident from this Book; and was himjelf -y bel, / & {vr alt Which makes that rrobable which the Jews report, that thee P ophets, and
bs of the Old-Teitament and addig here and there ſome few PaſSages in the Hiftoricsl have them in our H«brew-Bibles : This being a Work moft ſuirabl- to the Prudence an 4 of the Jewiſh Naiion, who had been long in Captivity in Babylon, where it wag of Religion, and who were yet in a broken con-ition, and likely to be expoſed to lrgnified t2 ſome of them; and it was ſuirable allo ra that care which the wiſe and gracious rding to their ſeveral ecca{cons and neceſſities,
R A:
eal Scripture is evident, partly from the Teſtimony of the Jewiſh Church, to which were committed
tranſmit them to'us, and are not once charged either by
FT, ww was the High Prieft, 2 Kings. 23 18. , 7.6, and -ndowed with a more than o dinary m:alure of God's Spirit, as In his time alſo there lived atvers ether holy Men of G 0 D, as Da-
by a moderate Tax to be laid either or:ly upon thoſe Jews who were reſolved to ſtay, or upon the Gentiles alſo3 which the Perfcax ' Monarchs being aiſojure, had a Power to do; and which was the ; more reaſonable, becauſe the King himſelf ſubmitted to ir, and | borea great part of the burden ;. and b:cauſe ir was for the Houſe ; of that grear God ro whom they all owed taeir preſent Peace and
great Felicity. #. Which upon this occaſion I give you leave to , tranſport.
5 Thenroſe up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin # and the prieſts and the Levices, with all them whoſe ſpirit God had raiſed to go up &, to build the houſe of the LORD which 3s in Jeruſaleme
: And with them ſome of other Tr bes, as appears from 1 Chrex, 9+ 3. but theſe oanly.are named, b-caule rhey were moſt conſide- rable tor number and quality. k To who.m God had given chat pious Diſpoſition, and that Fortirucie and Reſolution which it re- quired to break through their difficulties, which were great and many, ſuch as their preſent penury, the length, and hazard; and coſtlineſs of the Journey, their Sertlements in comfortable Habita- trons, their diſperſion 1n ſeveral an4 diſtaxt places, which hindred the ConjunC&tion of their Counſe's 2d Attions, the multitude of their Enemies, the aCtual poſſeſſion of their Country by others, the great backwardneſs of many of their own Brethren to go with ther,
and many otker diſcouragemer:ts. |} 6 Andall they that were about them, [| ſtrengthened j Thu i their hands I with veſſels of ſilver, with gold, with heheths goods, and with beaſts, and with precious things, be- , lides all tat was willingly offered.
{ Either becauſe they had embraced, or at leaſt favoured *he Jewiſh Religion. concerning which they were inſtrufted by tae If» raclires that had now for a long time dwelt among them : or, ra- ther, that they might hereby gratifie the King's humsr, and pur< chaſe his favour: for they perceived him to be hearty and forward 1n the work.
7 Alſo Cyrus the king brought forth the veſſels of the houſe of the LORD, * which Nebuchad-nezzar+, gingy
| ſupplied, either by the voluntary Contributions of the People ; or -
f
which 3s in Judah, and build the houſe of the LORD God of Iſrael, ( hes the God ) which is in Jeruſalem f.
d To wit, of I/razl A material clauſe ; by vertue of which they ju*'y refuſed rhe help of thoſe Aliens, who prerended tojoyn witi them in the building, :h. 4+ 2, 3+ e Let his God help him, as I alſc ſhall do. f Or only, in Jervſalem, as it is in the Hebrew, So it notes the place where he allows and requires them to build it,
And whoſoever remaineth g, in any place where
he ſojourneth, let the men of his place + help him b
with ilver, and with gold z, and with goods, and with
beaſts, beſides the free-will-offering for the houſe of his God that #s in Jeruſalem.
' g Who, when his Brethren were gone up, was deſirous to go
+ Heb. lift him up:
had brought forth out of Jeruſalem »z, and had put 24.13. them in the houſe of his gods : 2 Chr. 36. 1m Obj. Theſe are ſaid to have been cut in pieces, 2 Kings, 24. r3.7-
how then are they here returned ? 4»ſw. That Hebrew word uſed
2 Kings, 24. 13. ſignifies notſo properly to cut inpieres, as to cut of,
as from the uſe of the word, Deut. 25+ 12. 2 Sam, 4 12. 2 Kings
18. 16e fer. 9. 26. And theſe veſſels when they were taken away
from the Temple, might very well be ſaid to be cut off from it, be-
cauſe they had for ſo long time been ſo conſtantly, and as it were, inſeparably united to it, and kept in it. In like manner, che mea: offering, and drink-offering are ſaid to be cut of from the hoxſe of the Lord,
Joel 1.9. And it is very improbable, that they ſhould deface and
cut 1n pieces theſe magnificent Veſſels which they could ſo caſily tranſport whole to Beblyon, Although, if ſome of the larger of them
had been cut into two or more parts, yet the parts of them might
with them, bur forced to tarry there for want of neceſlaries for his
= # ;