Also Cyrus the king brought forth the articles of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods;
All Commentaries on Ezra 1:7 Go To Ezra 1
Bede
AD 735
In these words the great faith of the king and his great piety shine. His faith, certainly, because he understood that the people of Israel was the people of God before all nations. And his piety because without exception he allowed all who wanted to to go back to their homeland. And again his faith, because he testified that that same Lord God dwelled in heaven and was in Jerusalem and moved to Jerusalem together with all those who were coming back from Babylon. Is it not clearer than light that he conceived him not as a corporeal being that can be enclosed in a place but as a Spirit that is everywhere? Indeed Cyrus confessed that [God] was in Jerusalem and in the temple, without doubting that he also ruled the kingdom of heaven at the same time. So he believed that he reigned in heaven but was nevertheless on earth with his faithful, in order to direct their minds and hands to make the good works of salvation. In addition, all the words of this Scripture are fragrant with spiritual meanings. To whom is it not obviously clear that only those with whom God is can actually move from the “confusion” of sin to the works of virtue, as from the bondage of Babylon to the freedom of Jerusalem? On Ezra and Nehemiah
