Ezra 9:4-15
New English Translation
4 Everyone who held the words of the God of Israel in awe[a] gathered around me because of the unfaithful acts of the people of the exile.[b] 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,[c] with my tunic and robe torn, and then dropped to my knees and spread my hands to the Lord my God. 6 I prayed:[d]
“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[e] priests, have been delivered over by the local kings[f] to sword, captivity, plunder, and embarrassment—right up to the present time.
8 “But now briefly[g] we have received mercy from the Lord our God, in that he has left us a remnant and has given us a secure position[h] in his holy place. Thus our God has enlightened our eyes[i] 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[j] to restore the temple of our God and to raise up[k] 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:[l] ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land defiled by the impurities of the local residents![m] 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[n] 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[o] 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[p] no one can really stand before you.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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 9:4-15
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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