Lehi, like other Old Testament prophets, foretold the ultimate return of the Jews to Jerusalem. Almost a century and a half earlier, Isaiah had spoken prophetically of the coming of Cyrus the Persian, the man God would raise up among a heathen nation to allow the return and rebuilding of Jerusalem. In speaking of Cyrus, the Lord said: “He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.” Indeed, the Lord called Cyrus his “anointed,” and stressed that his “right hand I have holden.” (Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 45:1.) Jeremiah, speaking in behalf of Jehovah, explained: “And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon [the Persians would garner power], and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations” (Jeremiah 25:12). Jeremiah also prophesied: “For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place” (Jeremiah 29:10). Indeed, within seventy years Cyrus the Persian would issue a decree allowing the return and reconstruction of the temple (Ezra 1:1-4).