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
World English Bible
9 Now when these things were done, the princes came near to me, saying, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, following their abominations, even those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy offspring have mixed themselves with the peoples of the lands. Yes, the hand of the princes and rulers has been chief in this trespass.”
3 When I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled the hair out of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded. 4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel were assembled to me, because of their trespass of the captivity; and I sat confounded until the evening offering.
5 At the evening offering I rose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn; and I fell on my knees, and spread out my hands to Yahweh my God; 6 and I said, “My God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to you, my God; for our iniquities have increased over our head, and our guiltiness has grown up to the heavens. 7 Since the days of our fathers we have been exceedingly guilty to this day; and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests, have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. 8 Now for a little moment grace has been shown from Yahweh our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and revive us a little in our bondage. 9 For we are bondservants; yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended loving kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to set up the house of our God, and to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
10 “Now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you have commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land, to which you go to possess it, is an unclean land through the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their filthiness. 12 Now therefore don’t give your daughters to their sons. Don’t take their daughters to your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity forever; that you may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’
13 “After all that has come on us for our evil deeds, and for our great guilt, since you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such a remnant, 14 shall we again break your commandments, and join ourselves with the peoples that do these abominations? Wouldn’t you be angry with us until you had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant, nor any to escape? 15 Yahweh, the God of Israel, you are righteous; for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold,[a] we are before you in our guiltiness; for no one can stand before you because of this.”
Footnotes
- 9:15 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.
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