Cyrus script we wrote for puppets!
Cyrus Lets the Israelites Return
NARRATOR: Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah—the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia…
CYRUS: Scribe! Scribe!
SCRIBE: Yes, your majestiness?
CYRUS: Call me Uncle Cy.
SCRIBE: Yes, your Uncle Cy-ness.
CYRUS: (Hesitates) Yes. Well… I've got a hankerin' to do something.
SCRIBE: Oh, by all means, use mine. (hands hanky)
CYRUS: What's this?
SCRIBE: A hanky.
CYRUS: No, not a hanky.
SCRIBE: What would you rather call it, then, your Royal Cy-ness?
CYRUS: (Pause) You're new here, aren't you?
SCRIBE: Yes, your royal Uncle Cy-ness. Shall I put away the object formerly known as hanky for you, or do you still have a hankerin'?
CYRUS: (While SCRIBE is writing furiously) Okay… here's what you're going to do. Write down what I say. Ahem. "Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem…"
SCRIBE: A house?
CYRUS: What? Oh, yes. Like a temple.
SCRIBE: Why don't you just say temple, then, your Royal-Uncle-Cy-ness?
CYRUS: (Pause) I'm going to continue. Ahem. "…which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel…"
SCRIBE: Go up… isn't it more 'over' than 'up'? That's how it looks on my map.
CYRUS: Look, I just want you to write what I say, alright?
SCRIBE: Right.
CYRUS: (with quick graphics of the temple, gold, cattle, and a money sign) Ahem. "He is the God who is in Jerusalem. Every survivor, at whatever place he may live, let the men of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with a freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem." Alright Scribe, read it back to me.
SCRIBE: "Okay… I've got down, 'Thus says Cyrus…' and then I lost you."
CYRUS: (Sigh, faceplant)
NARRATOR: (Map view, pan out) Cyrus sent his proclamation throughout his kingdom. The Israelites were so excited! They began to go back under the leadership of a man named Zerubbabel.
ZERUBBABEL: C'mon! Let's go! Jerusalem or bust!
ISRAELITES: Yeah! Let's go!
(Map view, arrow moving from Persia to Jerusalem)
ZERUBBABEL: Whew! Long trip…
ISRAELITES: Long trip, long trip.
ZERUBBABEL: Now to build a temple! Woo hoo!
ISRAELITES: Yeah! Woo hoo!
NARRATOR: The Israelites had been returned to their land because God had moved in the heart of Cyrus to let them go.
CYRUS: Man, I'm really hungry. Scribe! Scribe!
SCRIBE: Yes, your royal Uncle-Cy-No-That's-Not-Duck-Dynasty-Stop-Calling-Me-That-Will-You-Just-Leave-ness? You called.
CYRUS: (Pause) Yeah, never mind.
Here's the puppet video our church's youth group made for our Bible Questers from the above script!