'King' in the Bible

During the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in fulfillment of the message from the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD prompted Cyrus, king of Persia, to make this proclamation throughout his entire kingdom, which was also released in written form:

AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM CYRUS, KING OF PERSIA

King Cyrus also brought out from storage the service instruments from the Temple of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his gods.

Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought out to Mithredath the Treasurer, had them inventoried, and had them placed in care of Sheshbazzar, governor of Judah.

Here is a list of descendants of the province of Judah who returned from the captivity, from those who had been exiled. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had taken them to Babylon. They came back to Jerusalem and Judah, each one to his town,

They paid masons and carpenters in cash. They paid the residents of Sidon and Tyre with food, drink, and oil, for them to bring cedar trees by sea from Lebanon to Joppa in accordance with the order they had obtained from Cyrus, king of Persia.

After the builders laid the foundation for the LORD's Temple, the priests stood in their ministerial robes with trumpets and the descendants of Levi (who were also descendants of Asaph) with cymbals to praise the LORD, according to instructions prepared by David, king of Israel.

they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the families with this message: "Let's build along with you, because, like you, we seek your God, as do you, and we've been making sacrifices to him since the reign of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, who brought us here."

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel replied, "You have no part in our plans for building a temple to our God, because we alone will build to the LORD, the God of Israel, in accordance with the decree issued by King Cyrus, king of Persia."

by bribing their consultants in order to frustrate their plans throughout the reign of Cyrus, king of Persia until Darius became king.

While Artaxerxes was king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their co-conspirators wrote in the Aramaic language and script to King Artaxerxes of Persia. Aramaic:

Governor Rehum and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter concerning Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:

This is the text of the letter they sent. To: King Artaxerxes From: Your servants, the men of the province beyond the Euphrates River.

May the king be advised that the Jews who came from you to us have reached Jerusalem and are rebuilding a rebellious and wicked city, having completed its walls and repaired its foundations.

May the king be further advised that if this city is rebuilt and its walls erected, its citizens will refuse to pay tributes, taxes, and tariffs, thereby restricting royal revenues.

Now, because we are royal employees and are committed to preserving the reputation of the king, we have written to the king and have declared its contents to be true,

We certify to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls completed, you will lose your land holdings in the province beyond the Euphrates River.

The king replied: To: Governor Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues living in Samaria, and the remainder living beyond the Euphrates River. Greetings:

As soon as a copy of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum, to Shimshai the scribe, and to their colleagues, they traveled quickly to Jerusalem and compelled the Jews to cease by force of arms.

As a result, work on the Temple of God in Jerusalem ceased and did not begin again until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.

Here is a copy of the letter that Trans-Euphrates Governor Tattenai, Shethar-bozenai, and his colleagues the Trans-Euphrates Persians sent to King Darius.

The letter sent to him was written like this: To: King Darius: Greetings!

This is to inform the king that we traveled to the Temple of the great God in the Judean province, which is being built with large stones and reinforced with wooden beams in its walls. The work proceeds diligently and is in capable hands.

In answer they responded, "We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and are rebuilding the Temple that was built many years ago by a great king of Israel.

But because our predecessors provoked the God of Heaven to become angry, he handed them over to the control of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean who destroyed this Temple and transported the people to Babylon.

"However, during King Cyrus' first year that same King Cyrus of Babylon issued a decree to reconstruct this Temple of God.

Accordingly, with your approval we suggest that a search be conducted within the king's treasury at Babylon to verify whether or not King Cyrus ever issued such a decree to reconstruct this Temple of God in Jerusalem. Then please notify us concerning the king's pleasure in this matter.

Then King Darius issued an order to search the Hall of Records where the Babylonian archives were stored.

DATE: First year of Cyrus the King FROM: King Cyrus SUBJECT: The Temple of God in Jerusalem

so they may approach the God of Heaven with fragrant sacrifices and pray for the life of this king and his sons.

And may the God who causes his Name to rest there destroy any king or people who might attempt to destroy this Temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree. Let it be carried out quickly.

Because of what King Darius had mandated, Tattenai, the Trans-Euphrates Governor, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues carried out his orders quickly.

And so the Jewish leaders continued their building, and prospered because of the prophecies of Haggai the prophet and Iddo's son Zechariah. They completed the rebuilding in accordance with the commandment from the God of Israel and the edicts of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, king of Persia.

The Temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar during the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

Then they observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the LORD had made them glad, turning the heart of the king of Assyria toward them and strengthening them for their work on the Temple of God, the God of Israel.

After all of this, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Seraiah's son Ezra (who was the grandson of Azariah, son of Hilkiah,

left Babylon. He was a skillful scribe of the Law of Moses that the LORD God of Israel had given. And the king granted him everything he had requested because the hand of the LORD his God was upon him.

Some of the descendants of Israel also left for Jerusalem, including the priests, the descendants of Levi, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Temple Servants, during the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

Here is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra, the priest-scribe, a scholar in matters concerning the commandments of the LORD and concerning his statutes pertaining to Israel:

From: Artaxerxes, King of Kings To: Ezra, the Priest, a scholar in matters concerning the laws of the God of Heaven Greetings!

You have authority to act for the king and for his Council of Seven to conduct an inquiry concerning Judah and Jerusalem in accordance with the Law of your God, which is in your possession.

You are carrying silver and gold that the king and his advisors have freely given to the God of Israel, whose Temple is in Jerusalem,

I, Artaxerxes, in my capacity as king, hereby decree to all royal treasuries beyond the Euphrates River that whatever Ezra the priest-scribe of the Law of the God of Heaven, may require of you are to be performed with all due diligence,

Whoever refuses to practice the law of your God and the law of the king is to see judgment executed quickly, whether to death, banishment, confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.

and who showed gracious love to me before the king, before his advisors, and before all of the king's mighty officials. And I was strengthened because the hand of the LORD my God was upon me. So I gathered together the leaders of Israel to go with me.

These are the leaders of the families listed among those who left Babylon with me during the reign of King Artaxerxes:

because I was ashamed to ask the king for a contingent of soldiers and cavalry to protect us from enemies we might encounter on the way. After all, we had told the king, "The hand of our God seeks the good of all who seek him, but his power and anger are against everyone who forsakes him."

and divided between them the silver, the gold, the vessels, and the offering for the Temple of our God which the king had offered, along with his advisors, his senior officials, and all of Israel assembled there.