The response continues: "And he told him, 'Take these articles and go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem. And rebuild the house of God on its site.'" The quotation of Cyrus's directive establishes explicit imperial authorization for the restoration project, indicating the Persian king's specific command that the temple be rebuilt on its original site. The directive to deposit the recovered vessels in the temple establishes the intention that the rebuilt structure would resume its function as the repository for sacred objects and the center of Jewish religious practice. The specification to rebuild "on its site" indicates that restoration was to be conducted on the original temple location rather than at an alternative site, establishing physical and geographic continuity with pre-exile practice. The quotation of Cyrus's explicit directive provides the community with documented imperial authorization for the restoration project.

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