²⁰ Nebuchadnezzar took ·captive [into exile] to Babylon the people who ·were left alive [^Lescaped the sword], and he forced them to be ·slaves [servants] for him and his descendants. They remained there as ·slaves [servants] until the Persian kingdom ·defeated Babylon [^Lcame/rose to power]. ²¹ And so ·what the Lord had told Israel through the prophet Jeremiah happened [^Lthe word of the Lord through the mouth of Jeremiah was fulfilled; ^Che prophesied the fall of Jerusalem]: The country ·was an empty wasteland [lay desolate/fallow] for seventy years ·to make up for the years of Sabbath rest [Lev. 25:1–7] that the people had not kept [or enjoying its sabbath rest; ^Ca bitter observation that the land experienced an ironic “rest” while the Israelites were in exile; Lev. 25:4, 26:33–35].

The Return from Exile^(A)

²² In the first year Cyrus was king of Persia [539–38 bc], the Lord ·had Cyrus [^Lstirred the heart/spirit of Cyrus to] send an ·announcement to [decree/proclamation throughout] his whole kingdom. This happened ·so the Lord’s message spoken by Jeremiah would come true [to fulfill the word of the Lord in the mouth of Jeremiah]. He wrote: