Ezra study section

Ezra chapter summaries

A one-line summary of every chapter, with the period it covers. Open any chapter for the full study.

Chapter list

Chapters 1–6

Cyrus’s decree, the return under Zerubbabel and Jeshua, and the rebuilding of the temple despite fierce opposition.

Chapter 1 (538 BC): Stirred by the LORD, Cyrus decrees the return, and the exiles prepare to go up and rebuild the temple.
Chapter 2 (c. 537 BC): The list of the nearly fifty thousand who return under Zerubbabel and Jeshua.
Chapter 3 (c. 536 BC): The altar is rebuilt and the temple’s foundation laid, amid shouts of joy and weeping.
Chapter 4 (c. 536-530 BC): Local opposition and accusations halt the rebuilding of the temple for years.
Chapter 5 (520 BC): Stirred by Haggai and Zechariah, the people resume the work, and Darius is asked to verify Cyrus’s decree.
Chapter 6 (515 BC): Darius confirms the decree; the temple is completed and dedicated with joy, and the Passover is kept.

Chapters 7–10

Ezra returns with a second group and calls the people to put away their unfaithful, foreign marriages.

Chapter 7 (458 BC): Ezra, a scribe skilled in the Law, is sent to Jerusalem by Artaxerxes with royal authority.
Chapter 8 (458 BC): Ezra leads a second group of exiles home, fasting and praying for God’s protection on the way.
Chapter 9 (458 BC): Ezra mourns and prays over the people’s intermarriage with the surrounding nations.
Chapter 10 (458 BC): The people confess their sin and, in covenant renewal, put away their foreign marriages.

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