Ezra 9:5-15

Prayer of Confession

5 But at the evening offering I arose from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I fell on my knees and ¹stretched out my hands to the LORD my God;

6 and I said, "O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our ²guilt has grown even to the heavens.

7 "³Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt, and on account of our iniquities we, our kings and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity and to plunder and to ⁴open shame, as it is this day.

8 "But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the LORD our God, ⁵to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a ⁶peg in His holy place, that our God may ⁷enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage.

9 "⁸For we are slaves; yet in our bondage our God has not forsaken us, but ⁹has extended lovingkindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us reviving to raise up the house of our God, to restore its ruins and to give us a wall in Judah and 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 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 ¹⁰with their impurity.

12 'So now do not ¹¹give your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters to your sons, and ¹²never seek their peace or their prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and ¹³leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever *.'

13 "After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and ¹⁴our great guilt, since You our God have requited us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us ¹⁵an escaped remnant as this,

14 ¹⁶shall we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples who commit these abominations? ¹⁷Would You not be angry with us to the point of destruction, until there is no remnant nor any who escape?

15 "O LORD God of Israel, ¹⁸You are righteous, for we have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this day; behold, we are before You in ¹⁹our guilt, for ²⁰no one can stand before You because of this."

Ezra 9:5-15 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZRA 9

Ezra being informed, by some of the princes who complained unto him, of the marriages of many of the Israelites with the people of the land, the Canaanites and others, was greatly grieved and distressed, Ezr 9:1-5, upon which he made a confession of their sins to God, with great shame, sorrow, and contrition, and deprecated the evils which they deserved, Ezr 9:6-15.

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 9:29
• 2. 2 Chronicles 28:9; Ezra 9:13, 15; Revelation 18:5
• 3. 2 Chronicles 29:6; Psalms 106:6
• 4. Daniel 9:7
• 5. Ezra 9:13-15
• 6. Isaiah 22:23
• 7. Psalms 13:3
• 8. Nehemiah 9:36
• 9. Ezra 7:28
• 10. Ezra 6:21
• 11. Exodus 34:15, 16; Deuteronomy 7:3; Ezra 9:2
• 12. Deuteronomy 23:6
• 13. Proverbs 13:22
• 14. Ezra 9:6, 7
• 15. Ezra 9:8
• 16. Ezra 9:2
• 17. Deuteronomy 9:8, 14
• 18. Nehemiah 9:33; Daniel 9:7
• 19. Ezra 9:6
• 20. Job 9:2; Psalms 130:3

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "fasting"
• [b]. Lit "palms"
• [c]. Lit "multiplied over the head"
• [d]. Lit "shame of faces"
• [e]. Lit "of these abominations"
• [f]. Lit "to destroy"