Ezra 9
New English Translation
A Prayer of Ezra
9 Now when these things had been completed, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the local residents[a] who practice detestable things similar to those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 Indeed, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race[b] has become intermingled with the local residents. Worse still, the leaders and the officials have been at the forefront of all this unfaithfulness!”
3 When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and my robe and ripped out some of the hair from my head and beard. Then I sat down, quite devastated. 4 Everyone who held the words of the God of Israel in awe[c] gathered around me because of the unfaithful acts of the people of the exile.[d] Devastated, I continued to sit there until the evening offering.
5 At the time of the evening offering I got up from my self-abasement,[e] with my tunic and robe torn, and then dropped to my knees and spread my hands to the Lord my God. 6 I prayed:[f]
“O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God! For our iniquities have climbed higher than our heads, and our guilt extends to the heavens. 7 From the days of our fathers until this very day our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities we, along with our kings and[g] priests, have been delivered over by the local kings[h] to sword, captivity, plunder, and embarrassment—right up to the present time.
8 “But now briefly[i] we have received mercy from the Lord our God, in that he has left us a remnant and has given us a secure position[j] in his holy place. Thus our God has enlightened our eyes[k] and has given us a little relief in our time of servitude. 9 Although we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our servitude. He has extended kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, in that he has revived us[l] to restore the temple of our God and to raise up[m] its ruins and to give us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 “And now what are we able to say after this, our God? For we have forsaken your commandments 11 which you commanded us through your servants the prophets with these words:[n] ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land defiled by the impurities of the local residents![o] With their abominations they have filled it from one end to the other with their filthiness. 12 Therefore do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons, and do not take their daughters in marriage for your sons. Do not ever seek their peace or welfare, so that you may be strong and may eat the good of the land and may leave it as an inheritance for your children[p] forever.’
13 “Everything that has happened to us has come about because of our wicked actions and our great guilt. Even so, our God, you have exercised restraint[q] toward our iniquities and have given us a remnant such as this. 14 Shall we once again break your commandments and intermarry with these abominable peoples? Would you not be so angered by us that you would wipe us out, with no survivor or remnant? 15 O Lord God of Israel, you are righteous, for we are left as a remnant this day. Indeed, we stand before you in our guilt. However, because of this guilt[r] no one can really stand before you.”
Footnotes
- Ezra 9:1 tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.” So also in v. 2.
- Ezra 9:2 tn Heb “the holy seed,” referring to the Israelites as God’s holy people.
- Ezra 9:4 tn Heb “who trembled at the words of the God of Israel.”
- Ezra 9:4 tn Heb “the exile”; the words “the people” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Ezra 9:5 tn The Hebrew word used here is a hapax legomenon. It refers to the self-abasement that accompanies religious sorrow and fasting.
- Ezra 9:6 tn Heb “I said.”
- Ezra 9:7 tc The MT lacks “and” here, but see the LXX and Vulgate.
- Ezra 9:7 tn Heb “the kings of the lands.”
- Ezra 9:8 tn Heb “according to a little moment.”
- Ezra 9:8 tn Heb “a peg” or “tent peg.” The imagery behind this word is drawn from the experience of nomads who put down pegs as they pitched their tents and made camp after times of travel.
- Ezra 9:8 tn Heb “to cause our eyes to shine.” The expression is a figure of speech for “to revive.” See DCH 1:160 s.v. אור Hi.7.
- Ezra 9:9 tn Heb “has granted us reviving.”
- Ezra 9:9 tn Heb “to cause to stand.”
- Ezra 9:11 tn Heb “through your servants the prophets, saying.”
- Ezra 9:11 tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”
- Ezra 9:12 tn Heb “sons”; cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NLT “children”; NCV, TEV “descendants.”
- Ezra 9:13 tn Heb “held back downwards from”; KJV “hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve” (NIV, NRSV, NLT all similar).
- Ezra 9:15 tn Heb “this”; the referent (the guilt mentioned previously) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Ezra 9
Expanded Bible
Ezra’s Prayer
9 After these things had been ·done [completed], the ·leaders [officials] came to me and said, “Ezra, the Israelites, including the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the people ·around us [L of the land]. Those neighbors ·do [practice] ·evil [detestable; abominable] things, as the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites did. 2 ·The Israelite men and their sons [L They] have ·married [L taken] these women. They have ·mixed [intermingled] the ·people who belong to God [L holy race] with the people ·around them [L of the land]. The leaders and ·officers of Israel [officials] have led the rest of the Israelites to do this unfaithful thing.”
3 When I heard this, I angrily tore my ·robe [tunic; clothes] and ·coat [cloak; mantle], pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat down ·in shock [devastated; appalled; in horror]. 4 Everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of the unfaithfulness of the ·captives [exiles] who had returned. I sat there ·in shock [devastated; appalled; in horror] until the evening ·sacrifice [offering].
5 At the evening ·sacrifice [offering] I got up from ·where I had shown my shame [my humiliation/self-abasement]. My ·robe [tunic; clothes] and ·coat [cloak; mantle] were torn, and I fell on my knees with my hands ·spread [stretched] out to the Lord my God. 6 I prayed,
“My God, I am too ashamed and ·embarrassed [disgraced] to lift up my face to you, my God, because our ·sins [iniquities] are so many. They are higher than our heads. Our guilt even ·reaches up [extends] to the ·sky [heavens]. 7 From the days of our ·ancestors [fathers] until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our ·sins [iniquities], we, our kings, and our priests have been ·punished by [L given into the hands of the kings of the land, to] the sword and ·captivity [exile]. Foreign kings have ·taken away our things [plundered; pillaged] and ·shamed [humiliated] us, even as ·it [the case] is today.
8 “But now, for a short time, the Lord our God has been ·kind [gracious; merciful] to us. He has let ·some of us [a remnant] ·come back from [escape; or survive] ·captivity [exile] and has ·let us live in safety [L given us a peg; C a tent peg symbolizing pitching a tent after travel] in his holy place. And so our God ·gives us hope [L causes our eyes to shine; C that is, revives] and a little relief ·from [in] our ·slavery [bondage]. 9 Even though we ·are [were] slaves, our God in his ·unfailing love [loyalty] ·has not left [did not abandon/forsake] us. He caused the kings of Persia to ·be kind to [look kindly on] us and has ·given us new life [revived us]. We can rebuild the ·Temple [L house] of our God and ·repair [restore] its ruins. And he has given us a wall [C of protection] in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 “But now, our God, what can we say after you have done all this? We have ·disobeyed [abandoned; forsaken] your commands 11 that you ·gave [commanded] through your servants the prophets. You said, ‘The land you are entering to ·own [possess] is ·ruined [defiled; polluted; unclean]; the people living there have ·spoiled it [defiled it; polluted it; made it unclean] by ·the evil they do [their detestable/abominable practices]. Their evil filled the land with ·uncleanness [corruption; filth; impurity] from one end to the other. 12 So do not ·let your daughters marry [L give your daughters to] their sons, and do not ·let their daughters marry [L take their daughters for] your sons. Do not wish for their peace or ·success [prosperity; welfare]. Then you will be strong and eat the good things of the land. Then you can leave ·this land [L it as an inheritance] to your ·descendants [sons] forever.’
13 “What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt. But you, our God, have punished us less than ·we [our sin/iniquities] deserve; you have left a ·few of us alive [remnant such as this]. 14 ·We should not [L Should we…?] again break your commands by ·allowing marriages [intermarrying] with these ·wicked [detestable; abominable] people. ·If we did, you would get angry [L Would not your anger be…?] enough to destroy us, ·and none of us would be left alive [without remnant or survivor]. 15 Lord, God of Israel, by your ·goodness [righteousness] a ·few of us [remnant] are left alive today. We ·admit that we are guilty [stand/come before you in our guilt] ·and [although] ·none of us should be allowed to [no one can truly] stand before you.”
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