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Old Testament

Ezra

10 chapters

Start reading: Ezra 1

About this book

Ezra picks up the story after the exile in Babylon. In the first half, Persia's king Cyrus lets Jewish exiles go home, and a first group under Zerubbabel and Jeshua returns to Jerusalem, rebuilds the altar and lays the temple foundation. Opposition from neighbors and royal officials stalls the work for years, until the prophets Haggai and Zechariah stir the people to finish, and the temple is dedicated with joy and a Passover. The second half jumps ahead decades to Ezra, a priest and scribe skilled in God's law, who leads another group home with the king's blessing. He is shaken to learn that many in the community have intermarried with surrounding peoples and adopted their practices, and he leads the people in public confession and a costly commitment to reform. The book shows God keeping his word to restore a people, and the slow, often difficult work of rebuilding worship and faithfulness. Readers differ on how to apply the marriage reforms today.

Author
Unknown; Jewish and Christian tradition credits Ezra, and Ezra and Nehemiah were once counted as one book.
Date
Events run from about 538 to about 458 BC, in the Persian period; it was likely written or compiled in the following century.
Audience
The restored Jewish community in and around Jerusalem, and later readers of God's people.

Themes

God keeps his promisesRebuilding worshipOpposition and perseveranceThe Scriptures and repentance

Outline

  1. 1:1–2:70Cyrus's decree and the first return
  2. 3:1–3:13Altar and temple foundation
  3. 4:1–4:24Opposition halts the work
  4. 5:1–6:22The temple finished and dedicated
  5. 7:1–8:36Ezra's journey to Jerusalem
  6. 9:1–10:44Confession and reform

Key verses

Ezra 1:1Ezra 7:10Ezra 9:6-7

Chapters of Ezra

  1. 1Ezra 1Persia's king Cyrus, moved by the Lord, announces that the Jewish exiles may return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, and he asks neighbors to help with silver, gold, and livestock.
  2. 2Ezra 2This chapter lists the people who return from Babylon under Zerubbabel and Jeshua: families by ancestry or hometown, priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple servants, and descendants of Solomon's servants.
  3. 3Ezra 3In the seventh month the returnees gather in Jerusalem and first rebuild the altar, offering sacrifices even though fear of the surrounding peoples remains.
  4. 4Ezra 4Neighbors who claim to worship God offer to help build, but Zerubbabel and the leaders decline, since the task was assigned to them.
  5. 5Ezra 5Under the encouragement of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, Zerubbabel and Jeshua resume rebuilding the temple.
  6. 6Ezra 6Darius searches the archives and finds Cyrus's decree.
  7. 7Ezra 7Decades later, Ezra, a priest and scribe skilled in the law of Moses, goes up from Babylon to Jerusalem with King Artaxerxes' support.
  8. 8Ezra 8Ezra gathers families and leaders at the river Ahava, notices there are no Levites, and sends for them.
  9. 9Ezra 9Leaders tell Ezra that many in Israel, including priests and officials, have intermarried with surrounding peoples and adopted their practices.
  10. 10Ezra 10While Ezra prays and weeps at the temple, a large crowd gathers and weeps with him.
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