Ezra 2:1
What does Ezra 2:1 mean?
A plain-English look at Ezra 2:1 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Ezra 2:1 means
This verse introduces the catalogue of returnees by defining them as “children of the province,” the remnant of Judah made into a Babylonian province after exile. It notes their history: Nebuchadnezzar deported them to Babylon, and now they return to Jerusalem and Judah. The key point is restoration by God’s providence working through imperial policy. Each person returns “unto his city,” signaling not only personal homecoming but the reconstitution of Israel’s life on ancestral soil. Identity is tied to place and people. The verse frames the list as a testimony to God’s faithfulness in preserving a people who can go back, settle again, and resume covenant life in the land promised to their fathers.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Now these are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and that returned unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city;
KJV
King James Version · 1611Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city;
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Now these are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and that returned unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city;
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Now these are the people of the divisions of the kingdom, among those who had been made prisoners by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and taken away to Babylon, who went back to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his town;
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862And these <FI>are<Fi> sons of the province who are going up--of the captives of the removal that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed to Babylon, and they turn back to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city--
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Now these are the children of the province, that went out of the captivity, which Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Juda, every man to his city.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And these are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one to his city,
Context
Ezra begins the first return narrative by documenting exactly who came back. After chapter 1’s decree of Cyrus and the stirring of hearts to return, chapter 2 catalogs the actual community. Verse 1 sets the stage: exiles are now returnees heading to their own towns. The verses that follow will name leaders (v. 2), then families and towns (vv. 3–35), then religious functionaries (vv. 36–58), those of uncertain lineage (vv. 59–63), totals (vv. 64–67), and offerings and settlement (vv. 68–70). This framing helps readers see continuity from exile to restoration.
v.1This passage
v.2who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Ezra 6:2
And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of Media, a roll, and therein was thus written for a record:
- Esther 1:3
in the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him;
- Acts 23:34
And when he had read it, he asked of what province he was; and when he understood that he was of Cilicia,
- Lamentations 1:5
Her adversaries are become the head, her enemies prosper; For Jehovah hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: Her young children are gone into captivity before the adversary.
- Esther 1:1
Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus (this is Ahasuerus who reigned from India even unto Ethiopia, over a hundred and seven and twenty provinces),
- 2 Chronicles 36:1
Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s stead in Jerusalem.