After being captive in Babylon for decades, the Jews are allowed to return to their homeland. Ezra is one of the scribes/leaders who emerge shortly after the first groups of refugees return to the promised land.
| Author | Ezra, according to Jewish tradition |
| For whom it was written | For the Jews who returned from exile. |
| Chapter amount | 10 |
| Verse amount | 280 |
| Zerubbabel | Rebuilt the temple. |
| Ezra | Priest and scribe. |
| 1 | Cyrus, king of Persia, allows the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. |
| 2 | A list is made of those who returned from Babylon to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel. |
| 3 | Upon arriving in Jerusalem, an altar is immediately raised to offer to God. |
| 4 | The Samaritans accuse the Jews to King Artaxerxes, and the construction of the temple is prohibited. |
| 5, 6 | The prophets Haggai and Zechariah urge the Jews to continue the construction of the temple. King Darius confirms the order to build the temple. |
| 7, 8 | Artaxerxes sends Ezra to Jerusalem to teach the laws of God to the people. He returns with Ezra and nearly two thousand men. |
| 9, 10 | Ezra knows that many Israelites married foreign women and prays and confesses to God. The Israelites repent and send away their foreign wives. |