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

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