Ezra 9:4

4 Since the former exiles had been unfaithful, everyone who gathered around me there trembled at the words of the God of Israel. I sat in shock until the evening sacrifice.

Ezra 9:4 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 9:4

There were assembled unto me everyone that trembled at the
words of the God of Israel
That had a reverence for the word of God, and the things contained in it; feared to break the laws of God, and trembled at his judgments, which they might apprehend would come upon transgressors, see ( Isaiah 46:2 ) ,

because of the transgression of those that had been carried away;
into Babylon, and were now returned, and which was an aggravation of their transgression:

and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice:
or until the ninth hour, as the Syriac version, which was about our three o'clock in the afternoon, at which time the evening sacrifice was offered; perhaps it was in the morning when Ezra first received his information from the princes.

Ezra 9:4 In-Context

2 The Israelites and their sons have married some of these foreign women. They have mixed our holy race with the neighboring groups of people. Furthermore, the leaders and officials have led the way in being unfaithful."

3 When I heard this, I tore my clothes [in distress], pulled hair from my scalp and my beard, and sat down in shock.

4 Since the former exiles had been unfaithful, everyone who gathered around me there trembled at the words of the God of Israel. I sat in shock until the evening sacrifice.

5 At the evening sacrifice I got up from my misery, and with my clothes torn, I knelt down, stretched out my hands to the LORD my God in prayer,

6 and said, "I am ashamed, my God. I am embarrassed to look at you. Our sins have piled up over our heads, and our guilt is so overwhelming that it reaches heaven.