When the Persian Empire conquered the Babylonians, one of

Cyrus the Persian's first acts was to decree that any Jew who had

been deported to Babylon, by Nebuchadnezzar, nearly 70 years

earlier could return to his homeland to help rebuild the temple. His

proclamation read: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me

all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build

a temple for him in Jerusalem. Cyrus apparently believed he had

been divinely authorized to rule many nations with many gods and

goddesses. He honored the various gods of the nations by rebuilding

the temples to their gods.

After Cyrus's proclamation, almost 40,000 Jews left Babylon

and headed for Jerusalem. Cyrus sent silver and gold goblets with

the exiles to be returned to the temple at Jerusalem. These sacred

vessels were plundered by Babylon and placed in the temple of

Nebuchadnezzar's god, Marduk to declare his dominance over the

God of the Jews.