Ezra 1:1, 2

“We already have seen that the Babylonian captivity did not bring the Jews to national repentance and so lead to national restoration. As the reading of Ezra will disclose, when Cyrus, King of Persia, gave permission to the captives to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, scarcely fifty thousand Jews availed themselves of the privilege, a considerable portion of whom were priests and Levites of the humbler and poorer class.”
   –Dr. James M. Gray

They were looking for a king 
To slay their foes and lift them high; 
Thou cam’st, a little baby thing 
That made a woman cry. 
   –George McDonald 

Ezra 10

“When I was a boy, I heard my father say that if by some miracle God could change every cold, indifferent Christian into ten blatant infidels, the church might celebrate a day of thanksgiving and praise.”
   –Lyman Abbott