Ezra 9:5

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.

Ezra 9:5 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 9:5

And at the evening sacrifice I rose up from my heaviness
The signs and tokens of it, particularly sitting on the ground; or "from my fasting" ^F14, having eaten nothing that day, it being early in the morning when he was told the above case:

and having rent my garment and my mantle;
which he had done before, and still kept them on him in the same case:

fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God;
in the posture and with the gesture of an humble supplicant.

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FOOTNOTES:

F14 (ytynetm) "jejunio meo", Michaelis; so Jarchi.

Ezra 9:5 In-Context

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.

7 From the days of our ancestors until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we, our kings, and our priests have been punished by the sword and captivity. Foreign kings have taken away our things and shamed us, even as it is today.