Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezra 2:1

"Now 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;" — Ezra 2:1 (ASV)

The children of the province that went up out of the captivity. — They came from the captivity, which was now as it were a generic name—Children of the captivity in Babylon (Daniel 2:2), in Judah (Ezra 4:1)—and became children of the province, the Judean province of Persia.

Every one unto his city. — So far, that is, as his city was known. The various cities, or villages, are more distinctly enumerated in Nehemiah.