Ezra 9:4-15
New American Standard Bible
4 Then (A)everyone who was frightened by the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me, and I sat [a]appalled until (B)the evening offering.
Prayer of Confession
5 But at the evening offering I stood up from my [b]humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I bowed down on my knees and (C)spread out my [c]hands to the Lord my God; 6 and I said, “My God, I am ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God, for our wrongful deeds have [d]risen above our heads, and our (D)guilt has grown even to the heavens. 7 (E)Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt, and because of our wrongful deeds we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to [e](F)open shame, as it is this day. 8 But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God, (G)to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a [f](H)peg in His holy place, so that our God may (I)enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage. 9 (J)For we are slaves; yet in our bondage our God has not abandoned us, but (K)has extended favor to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us reviving to erect the house of our God, to restore its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 “And now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have abandoned Your commandments, 11 which You have commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from end to end, and (L)with their impurity. 12 So now do not (M)give your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters for your sons, and (N)never seek their peace or their prosperity, so that you may be strong and may eat the good things of the land, and (O)leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.’ 13 And after everything that has come upon us for our evil deeds and (P)our great guilt, since You our God have spared us by inflicting less than our wrongdoing deserves, and have given us such (Q)an escaped remnant as this, 14 (R)shall we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples [g]who commit these abominations? (S)Would You not be angry with us [h]to the point of destruction, until there would be no remnant nor any who would escape? 15 Lord God of Israel, (T)You are righteous, for we have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this day; behold, we are before You in (U)our guilt, for (V)no one can stand before You because of this.”
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Ezra 9:4-15
International Standard Version
4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered together as a group because of the sin committed by those who had been led astray. As for me, I remained seated, in shock, until the evening sacrifice.
Ezra’s Prayer of Repentance
5 At the time of the evening sacrifice, I arose from my discouragement. Still in my torn garment and robe, I fell to my knees with my hands outstretched to the Lord my God, 6 and said,
“My God, I am too ashamed and hurt to turn to you, because we’re in our iniquities over our heads. Furthermore, my God, our sins have grown as high as the heavens. 7 We have lived in great sin from the days of our ancestors even until today, and because of those iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered over to foreign kings, for execution, for captivity, for plunder, and for humiliation, as is the case[a] today. 8 Though now, for a moment, grace has been shown[b] from the Lord our God, leaving a few survivors to escape, and providing us a secure hold in his Holy Place, so that our God might enlighten us and give us relief from our servitude. 9 Even though we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. Instead, he has extended gracious love to us in the presence of the kings of Persia, to grant us revival, to set up the Temple of our God, to repair its damage, and to give us a protective wall for Judah and Jerusalem.
10 Now, our God, what can we say besides this? Because we have abandoned your commandments 11 that you gave in the writings[c] of your servants, the prophets:
‘The land you are entering to possess is a morally unclean land due to the moral uncleanness of the people who live in there—along with their abominations—that has filled it from one end to the other with their impurities. 12 So, therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor marry their daughters to your sons, and under no circumstances are you to seek their well-being or their wealth, so that you may remain strong, enjoying the best things the land has to give, and so that you may establish an inheritance for your children forever.’[d]
13 “After all that has happened to us because of our evil behavior, and because of our great sin—considering that you our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve[e] and have given us this deliverance— 14 should we violate your commandments by intermarrying with the nations[f] who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you had consumed us, with not even a remnant surviving[g] to escape?
15 Lord God of Israel, you are just: As a result, we remain here today delivered. Look at us! Because of our sin, we cannot stand in your presence as a result of everything that has happened.”
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