Ezra 1 · a question people ask
Weren't the temple's vessels cut in pieces?
The books tell of the vessels in more than one way, and these notes quote them as they stand. 2 Kings says Nebuchadnezzar "cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the LORD’s temple, as the LORD had said" (2 Kings 24:13), and later, "The captain of the guard took away the fire pans, the basins, that which was of gold, for gold, and that which was of silver, for silver" (2 Kings 25:15). 2 Chronicles says "All the vessels of God’s house, great and small… he brought to Babylon" (2 Chronicles 36:18), and "They burned God’s house, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all of its valuable vessels" (2 Chronicles 36:19). Ezra says Cyrus "brought out the vessels of the LORD’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought out of Jerusalem, and had put in the house of his gods" (1:7), and later speaks of the "gold and silver vessels of God’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem" (Ezra 5:14). Ezra doesn't say whether the vessels of 1:7 were all the vessels of the house or which ones they were, and it doesn't mention Solomon. None of the books explains how the verses fit together, and these notes set them side by side without trying to.
The verses
“He carried out from there all the treasures of the LORD’s house and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the LORD’s temple, as the LORD had said.”
“They took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the spoons, and all the vessels of bronze with which they ministered. The captain of the guard took away the fire pans, the basins, that which was of gold, for gold, and that which was of silver, for silver.”
“All the vessels of God’s house, great and small, and the treasures of the LORD’s house, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. They burned God’s house, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all of its valuable vessels.”
“Also Cyrus the king brought out the vessels of the LORD’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought out of Jerusalem, and had put in the house of his gods;”