The returned exiles were self-absorbed and focused their eyes on what they were experiencing. They failed to see what God was doing to the nations around them. But having a broader vision of the Lord’s works would give Israel reason for praising God rather than wallow in self-pity.
Furthermore, Israel may have been influenced by the pagan thought that the god(s) of a nation were limited in power to their nation. If Israel was so influenced, then they failed to acknowledge and appreciate the doings of the Lord among other nations?
5 Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the LORD beyond the border of Israel!”