It was those "whose spirit God had raised" (Ezra 1:5) who had returned under the decree of Cyrus. But God ceased not to plead with those who voluntarily remained in the land of their exile, and through manifold agencies He made 600 it possible for them also to return. The large number, however, of those who failed to respond to the decree of Cyrus, remained unimpressible to later influences; and even when Zechariah warned them to flee from Babylon without further delay, they did not heed the invitation.

Der hentydedes her til dem, "hvis ånd Gud vakte" (Ezra 1,5), og som rejste hjem, da Kyros udstedte sit dekret. Men Gud vedblev at appellere til dem, der frivilligt blev boende i deres udlændigheds land. Han benyttede mange midler for at gøre det muligt for dem at rejse. Flertallet af dem, der ikke benyttede sig af Kyros tilladelse, lod sig heller ikke påvirke senere hen. De reagerede ikke engang, da Zakarias opfordrede dem til at flygte ufortøvet fra Babylon.