2. The Argument of the book.
Now, this book teaches the veracity of the Divine promise concerning the liberation of the people from Babylonian captivity and their return to Judea. That is, it shows the return of a great part of the Jews unto their Ancestral Lands through Zerubbabel and the other Princes; the restoration of the Temple, by the permission of Darius, after the overcoming of many difficulties; a return to the worship of God as prescribed by the Divine law: And, with matters again deteriorating, it shows the coming of Ezra, who, with a great multitude of Jews led back again, corrected the growing sins of the people, especially of the Chief Men of the Church, and restored legitimate order in both Republics.