Ezra 9:4

4 Everyone who trembled in fear at the word of the God of Israel gathered around me because of the unfaithfulness of the captives who had returned. I sat there 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 Israelite men and their sons have married these women. They have mixed the people who belong to God with the people around them. The leaders and officers of Israel have led the rest of the Israelites to do this unfaithful thing."

3 When I heard this, I angrily tore my robe and coat, pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat down in shock.

4 Everyone who trembled in fear at the word of the God of Israel gathered around me because of the unfaithfulness of the captives who had returned. I sat there in shock until the evening sacrifice.

5 At the evening sacrifice I got up from where I had shown my shame. My robe and coat were torn, and I fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God.

6 I prayed, "My God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are so many. They are higher than our heads. Our guilt even reaches up to the sky.