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CYRUS
5
"I am Yahweh, that made all things,
that stretched out heaven alone;
⁠when I spread out the earth who was with me?
25.⁠ "That thwarteth the signs of the praters,
and maketh diviners foolish;
"That confuteth the wise,
and turneth their knowledge into folly;
26.⁠ "That establisheth the word of his servants,
and fulfilleth the counsel of his messengers;
"That saith of Jerusalem, It shall be peopled
⁠(and of the cities of Judah, Let them be rebuilt),
and its ruins will I restore;
27.⁠ "That saith to the deep, Be dry,
and thy streams will I dry up;
28.⁠ "That saith of Cyrus, My shepherd,
and all my pleasure shall he fulfil;
"That saith to Jerusalem, Be built,
and to the temple, Be founded."[1]

Cyrus seems to have more than, fulfilled the expectations of his Babylonian partisans. The chronicle to which reference has been made says, "He gave peace to the city; Cyrus proclaimed peace to all Babylonia. Gobryas his lieutenant he appointed governor of Babylon." It adds a most significant item, namely, "From Kislew onward to Adar the gods of Akkad, whom Nabonidus had brought down to Babylon, returned to their cities."[2] Cyrus, in an inscription of his own, refers to the same matter and claims further credit for restoring both the gods and the people of certain districts on the Tigris to their homes. He adds a prayer that these gods in return may daily remind Bel and Nebo to lengthen his days and bestow upon him their favour.[3]

These interesting records must not be misunderstood. They do not mean that at this time the Persian conqueror abandoned the religion of his fathers and adopted that of the Babylonians; but that, being magnanimous by nature, he made it his policy to conciliate his subjects.[4] If, however, such was his disposition,

  1. ↑ Is. 4424 ff. Duhm and Cheyne omit the next to the last line and transfer the last to v.26, but the omission of the fourth line of that verse makes any further pruning unnecessary. On the minor changes in the text, cf. Cheyne, SBOT.
  2. ↑ K.B., iii, 2, 134 f.
  3. ↑ K.B., iii, 2, 126 f. Pinches, OT., 422.
  4. ↑ On this point Nöldeke has some remarks that are well worth quoting. He says: "If in these two inscriptions (the Chronicle and Cyrus's Cylinder) Cyrus appears as a pious worshipper of the Babylonian gods, and indeed, according to the Cylinder, Merodach himself led him
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