Ezra Outline

I. Restoration of the Temple (Ezra 1:1-6:22)

A. God Begins to Restore Through Cyrus (Ezr_1:1-11)

1. The Proclamation of Cyrus (Ezr_1:1-4)
2. Response to the Proclamation (Ezra 1:5-5:11)

B. The People Who Returned to Jerusalem (Ezr_2:1-70)

1. Introduction to the List (Ezra 2:1-1:2)
2. The List of People (Ezr_2:3-63)
3. Conclusion to the List (Ezr_2:64-70)

C. Establishing the Foundations (Ezr_3:1-13)

1. Laying the Spiritual Foundation (Ezr_3:1-7)
2. Laying the Material Foundation (Ezr_3:8-13)

D. Opposition to Restoration (Ezr_4:1-24)

1. The Opposition Begins (Ezr_4:1-5)
2. Other Examples of Opposition (Ezr_4:6-23)
3. The Opposition Succeeds (Ezr_4:24)

E. Resumption of Restoration (Ezra 5:1-6:12)

1. Help from God’s Prophets (Ezr_5:1-2)
2. Official Inquiry and Response (Ezra 5:3-6:12)

a. Questions from Officials (Ezr_5:3-5)
b. Letter from Tattenai to Darius (Ezr_5:6-17)
c. Response of Darius (Ezr_6:1-12)

F. Completion and Celebration (Ezr_6:13-22)

1. Completion of the Temple (Ezr_6:13-15)
2. The People Celebrate the Dedication (Ezr_6:16-18)
3. The People Celebrate the Passover (Ezr_6:19-22)

II. Restoration of Covenant Life, Phase One: The Work of Ezra (Ezra 7:1-10:44)

A. The King Commissions Ezra (Ezr_7:1-28)

1. Introduction to Ezra (Ezr_7:1-10)
2. Ezra’s Commission (Ezr_7:11-26)
3. Ezra’s Response to the Commission (Ezr_7:27-28)

B. Ezra Returns to Jerusalem (Ezr_8:1-36)

1. Those Who Accompany Ezra (Ezr_8:1-14)
2. Ezra Recruits Levites and Temple Servants (Ezr_8:15-20)
3. Seeking God’s Protection (Ezr_8:21-23)
4. Holy Gifts for the Temple (Ezr_8:24-30)
5. Arrival in Jerusalem (Ezr_8:31-36)

C. Ezra Confronts Jewish Intermarriage (Ezra 9:1-10:44)

1. Ezra’s Response to an Appalling Report (Ezr_9:1-4)
2. Ezra’s Prayer of Confession (Ezr_9:5-15)
3. A Proposal to Solve the Problem (Ezr_10:1-8)
4. National Consensus and Action (Ezr_10:9-17)
5. Those Who Put Away Pagan Wives (Ezr_10:18-44)