Ezra / Chapter 9

Ezra 9

15 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Officials inform Ezra that the people of Israel — including priests and Levites — have intermarried with the surrounding peoples. Ezra is devastated. He tears his garment and robe, pulls hair from his head and beard, and sits in stunned silence until the evening offering. Then he falls on his knees and pours out a prayer of confession, acknowledging Israel's guilt and God's grace. He confesses that the remnant has violated God's commands even after the mercy of restoration, and he dares not even lift his face to God.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

Ezra's prayer in this chapter is one of the most theologically dense passages in the Hebrew Bible. It is not a prayer for himself — Ezra has done nothing wrong — but a corporate confession in which he identifies completely with the community's sin. The repeated pronoun 'we' (anachnu) and 'our' (avonoteinu) shows a leader who will not stand apart from the guilt of his people. The prayer is structured as a movement from acknowledgment of past judgment (verses 6-7), through recognition of present mercy (verses 8-9), to confession of present failure (verses 10-14), ending in a raw admission of guilt with no request attached (verse 15). Ezra does not ask God to forgive — he simply confesses and stops. The silence at the end of the prayer is more powerful than any petition could be. The physical gestures of mourning — tearing garments, pulling out hair, sitting in desolation — are not performance but the body expressing what words cannot contain.

Translation Friction

The intermarriage crisis is the most theologically and ethically challenging section of Ezra. The prohibition against intermarriage draws on Deuteronomy 7:1-4, which forbids marriage with specific Canaanite nations to prevent religious syncretism. Ezra extends this prohibition to peoples not named in Deuteronomy (Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians), using the phrase ke-to'avot ha-goyim ('like the abominations of the nations') rather than a strict legal citation. The concern is religious identity, not ethnicity per se — intermarriage threatens covenant faithfulness because foreign spouses bring foreign gods. Ruth the Moabitess, an ancestor of David, stands as a counter-example: a foreign woman who joined Israel's God and people. We render the text faithfully without sanitizing its severity or importing modern categories that the text does not use.

Connections

Ezra's posture of mourning echoes Job (Job 1:20), the mourning for Josiah (2 Chronicles 35:24-25), and Daniel's self-humbling before God (Daniel 9:3-19). The list of nations in verse 1 draws from the Deuteronomic list of prohibited peoples (Deuteronomy 7:1) but expands it. The theological vocabulary — avon ('guilt'), ashmah ('culpability'), pesha ('transgression') — links to the Day of Atonement liturgy (Leviticus 16). The phrase zera ha-qodesh ('the holy seed') in verse 2 echoes Isaiah 6:13 ('the holy seed is its stump') and establishes a connection between the remnant theology of the prophets and the community boundaries Ezra seeks to enforce.

Ezra 9:1

וּכְכַלּ֣וֹת אֵ֗לֶּה נִגְּשׁ֨וּ אֵלַ֤י הַשָּׂרִים֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לֹֽא־נִבְדְּל֞וּ הָעָ֤ם יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְהַכֹּהֲנִ֣ים וְהַלְוִיִּ֔ם מֵעַמֵּ֖י הָאֲרָצ֑וֹת כְּתוֹעֲבֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔ם לַכְּנַעֲנִ֣י הַחִתִּ֗י הַפְּרִזִּי֙ הַיְבוּסִ֔י הָעַמֹּנִ֥י הַמֹּאָבִ֖י הַמִּצְרִ֥י וְהָאֱמֹרִֽי׃

When these things had been completed, the officials approached me and said, 'The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands. They are following the detestable practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.

KJV Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The list of eight nations blends the traditional Deuteronomic list (Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Amorites — from Deuteronomy 7:1) with additional peoples (Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians). Many of these ancient nations no longer existed as distinct entities in the post-exilic period; the names function as theological categories for the kinds of peoples whose practices threaten covenant faithfulness. The phrase ke-to'avoteihem ('according to their abominations') is the interpretive key: the issue is religious contamination, not racial purity.
The inclusion of priests and Levites in the accusation is devastating — the very guardians of holiness have violated the boundary they were supposed to maintain.

Ezra 9:2

כִּֽי־נָשְׂא֣וּ מִבְּנֹֽתֵיהֶ֗ם לָהֶם֙ וְלִבְנֵיהֶ֔ם וְהִתְעָ֥רְב֔וּ זֶ֥רַע הַקֹּ֖דֶשׁ בְּעַמֵּ֣י הָאֲרָצ֑וֹת וְיַ֧ד הַשָּׂרִ֣ים וְהַסְּגָנִ֗ים הָיְתָ֛ה בַּמַּ֥עַל הַזֶּ֖ה רִאשׁוֹנָֽה׃

They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed has become mixed with the peoples of the lands. And the hand of the officials and leaders has been foremost in this unfaithfulness.'

KJV For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

זֶרַע הַקֹּדֶשׁ zera ha-qodesh

"the holy seed" — holy offspring, consecrated lineage, sacred progeny, set-apart descendants

This phrase defines Israel's identity in terms of consecration rather than ethnicity. The 'seed' is holy because it belongs to the LORD — intermarriage dilutes not a bloodline but a covenant commitment. The concept is theological, not biological, though the post-exilic community applied it in ways that had concrete genealogical consequences.

Translator Notes

The phrase zera ha-qodesh ('the holy seed') is theologically loaded. It does not appear in the Torah as a designation for Israel; its closest antecedent is Isaiah 6:13. The term frames Israel's identity in terms of consecrated distinctiveness — a people set apart for God whose mixing with other peoples constitutes a violation of their holy status. The word ma'al ('unfaithfulness, treachery') is a technical term for sacrilege — misuse of what belongs to God (Leviticus 5:15). Intermarriage is framed not merely as a social offense but as desecration of the holy.
That the officials and leaders (ha-sarim ve-ha-seganim) were 'foremost' (rishonah) in the violation means this is a leadership crisis, not merely a populace problem.

Ezra 9:3

וּכְשׇׁמְעִ֣י אֶת־הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֡ה קָרַ֨עְתִּי אֶת־בִּגְדִ֜י וּמְעִילִ֗י וָאֶמְרְטָה֙ מִשְּׂעַ֤ר רֹאשִׁי֙ וּזְקָנִ֔י וָאֵשְׁבָ֖ה מְשׁוֹמֵֽם׃

When I heard this, I tore my garment and my robe, pulled out hair from my head and beard, and sat down in desolation.

KJV And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Four physical actions express Ezra's anguish: tearing the inner garment (beged), tearing the outer robe (me'il), pulling hair from the head, and pulling hair from the beard. Hair-pulling goes beyond normal mourning rites (which involve tearing clothes) into the territory of extreme grief and self-affliction. The word meshomem ('desolated, stunned, appalled') describes someone struck dumb by catastrophe — the same word used for desolate ruins. Ezra becomes a living embodiment of the destruction he fears.

Ezra 9:4

וְאֵלַ֣י יֵאָסֵ֗ף כֹּ֤ל חָרֵד֙ בְּדִבְרֵ֣י אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל עַל־מַ֖עַל הַגּוֹלָ֑ה וַאֲנִ֤י יֹשֵׁב֙ מְשׁוֹמֵ֔ם עַ֖ד לְמִנְחַ֥ת הָעָֽרֶב׃

Everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of the unfaithfulness of the returned exiles. I sat in desolation until the evening offering.

KJV Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The phrase kol chared be-divrei Elohei Yisrael ('everyone trembling at the words of the God of Israel') describes those who take God's word with absolute seriousness — the charedim, a term that later designated the most devout observant community. These people gather around Ezra not for comfort but in solidarity of grief. Ezra remains silent from morning until the minchat ha-arev ('evening offering'), approximately 3 PM — hours of wordless anguish before he speaks.

Ezra 9:5

וּבְמִנְחַ֣ת הָעֶ֗רֶב קַ֚מְתִּי מִתַּֽעֲנִיתִ֔י וּבְקׇרְעִ֥י בִגְדִ֖י וּמְעִילִ֑י וָאֶכְרְעָ֣ה עַל־בִּרְכַּ֗י וָאֶפְרְשָׂ֥ה כַפַּ֛י אֶל־יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהָֽי׃

At the evening offering I rose from my humiliation, with my garment and robe torn, and fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God.

KJV And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God,

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Ezra's prayer posture is deliberate: kneeling (ekhre'ah al birkai) with hands spread open (efresah kappai). The open hands signify both supplication and emptiness — he approaches God with nothing to offer but confession. The timing at the evening offering connects his personal anguish to the Temple's liturgical rhythm — the daily sacrifice provides the framework for his prayer. The word ta'aniti ('my humiliation/affliction') comes from the same root as the Yom Kippur fasting (Leviticus 16:29).

Ezra 9:6

וָאֹמְרָ֗ה אֱלֹהַי֙ בֹּ֣שְׁתִּי וְנִכְלַ֔מְתִּי לְהָרִ֧ים אֱלֹהַ֛י פָּנַ֖י אֵלֶ֑יךָ כִּ֣י עֲוֺנֹתֵ֤ינוּ רָבוּ֙ לְמַ֣עְלָה רֹּ֔אשׁ וְאַשְׁמָתֵ֥נוּ גָדְלָ֖ה עַ֥ד לַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃

I said: 'My God, I am ashamed and humiliated to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen over our heads and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.

KJV And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The prayer opens not with praise or petition but with shame: boshti ve-nikhlampti ('I am ashamed and humiliated'). Two synonyms for shame express a single overwhelming emotion. Ezra cannot lift his face — the physical posture matches the spiritual condition. The imagery is of guilt as a rising flood (rabu le-ma'lah rosh, 'multiplied above the head') and a tower reaching heaven (gadlah ad la-shamayim), echoing the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:4). The pronouns are corporate: avonoteinu ('our iniquities'), ashmatenu ('our guilt').

Ezra 9:7

מִימֵ֣י אֲבֹתֵ֗ינוּ אֲנַ֙חְנוּ֙ בְּאַשְׁמָ֣ה גְדֹלָ֔ה עַ֖ד הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה וּבַעֲוֺנֹתֵ֡ינוּ נִתַּ֡נּוּ אֲנַחְנוּ֩ מְלָכֵ֨ינוּ כֹהֲנֵ֜ינוּ בְּיַ֣ד ׀ מַלְכֵ֣י הָאֲרָצ֗וֹת בַּחֶ֙רֶב֙ בַּשְּׁבִ֣י וּבַבִּזָּ֔ה וּבְבֹ֥שֶׁת פָּנִ֖ים כְּהַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃

From the days of our ancestors until this very day we have been deep in guilt. Because of our iniquities, we — our kings and our priests — have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to open shame, as it is today.

KJV Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Ezra sweeps the entire history of Israel — mi-yemei avoteinu ('from the days of our ancestors') — under the verdict of guilt. The fourfold punishment (sword, captivity, plunder, shame) summarizes the covenant curses of Deuteronomy 28. The phrase boshet panim ('shame of face') is the opposite of God's shining face (Numbers 6:25) — a community whose face is exposed in humiliation rather than illuminated by divine favor. The refrain ke-ha-yom ha-zeh ('as it is this day') insists that the guilt is not historical but present.

Ezra 9:8

וְעַתָּ֡ה כִּמְעַט־רֶ֡גַע הָיְתָ֣ה תְחִנָּ֣ה ׀ מֵאֵ֣ת יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵ֡ינוּ לְהַשְׁאִ֨יר לָ֤נוּ פְלֵיטָה֙ וְלָתֶת־לָ֣נוּ יָתֵ֔ד בִּמְק֖וֹם קׇדְשׁ֑וֹ לְהָאִ֤יר עֵינֵ֙ינוּ֙ אֱלֹהֵ֔ינוּ וּלְתִתֵּ֛נוּ מִֽחְיָ֥ה מְעַ֖ט בְּעַבְדֻתֵֽנוּ׃

Now, for a brief moment, grace has come from the LORD our God — to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold in his holy place, so that our God might give light to our eyes and grant us a little relief in our servitude.

KJV And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The prayer pivots from guilt to grace: techinnah ('favor, grace') from God has provided three gifts. First, peleitah ('a remnant, an escape') — the community itself is the gift. Second, yated bi-meqom qodsho ('a peg/stake in his holy place') — the word yated means a tent peg or nail, an image of precarious but real security. The returned community is a tent peg driven into sacred ground. Third, le-ha'ir eineinu ('to give light to our eyes') — a metaphor for restored vitality after near-death (see 1 Samuel 14:27-29). The word michyah ('revival, sustenance') carries the sense of being brought back from the edge of death.
The phrase be-avdutenu ('in our servitude') is startling — even after the return, Ezra considers the community to be in bondage. They live on their own land but under Persian authority. The restoration is real but incomplete.

Ezra 9:9

כִּֽי־עֲבָדִ֣ים אֲנַ֔חְנוּ וּבְעַבְדֻתֵ֕נוּ לֹ֥א עֲזָבָ֖נוּ אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ וַיַּט־עָלֵ֨ינוּ חֶ֜סֶד לִפְנֵ֣י ׀ מַלְכֵ֣י פָרַ֗ס לָתֶת־לָ֤נוּ מִֽחְיָה֙ לְרוֹמֵ֤ם אֶת־בֵּ֣ית אֱלֹהֵ֔ינוּ וּלְהַעֲמִ֣יד אֶת־חׇרְבֹתָ֔יו וְלָתֶת־לָ֣נוּ גָדֵ֔ר בִּיהוּדָ֖ה וּבִירוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃

For we are slaves, yet our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. He has extended faithful love to us before the kings of Persia, granting us revival — to raise up the house of our God and restore its ruins, and to give us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.

KJV For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

חֶסֶד chesed

"faithful love" — loyal love, covenant faithfulness, steadfast love, mercy, devotion, kindness

Chesed here stands in direct contrast to the community's unfaithfulness. God's faithful love is not earned by Israel's obedience but persists despite Israel's failure. This is the theological tension of the entire prayer: grace and guilt coexist.

Translator Notes

Ezra repeats: avadim anachnu ('we are slaves'). The community lives under Persian sovereignty — the restoration is genuine but the freedom is limited. Yet lo azavanu Eloheinu ('our God has not abandoned us') is the theological heart of the prayer. God's faithfulness persists despite the community's unfaithfulness. The word gader ('wall, fence') may refer literally to the city walls (under construction or planned) or metaphorically to God's protection. The phrase vayyat aleinu chesed ('he extended faithful love toward us') uses the key covenant term — God's chesed operates even in servitude.

Ezra 9:10

וְעַתָּ֛ה מַה־נֹּאמַ֥ר אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ אַחֲרֵי־זֹ֑את כִּ֥י עָזַ֖בְנוּ מִצְוֺתֶֽיךָ׃

Now, our God — what can we possibly say after all this? For we have abandoned your commandments,

KJV And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The pivot mah nomar ('what can we say?') is a confession of speechlessness — after receiving grace, the community has sinned again, and no words can justify it. The verb azavnu ('we have forsaken') is the same word Ezra just used of God not forsaking them (verse 9, lo azavanu). The parallel is devastating: God did not abandon his people, but his people abandoned his commands.

Ezra 9:11

אֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוִּ֗יתָ בְּיַ֨ד עֲבָדֶ֣יךָ הַנְּבִיאִים֮ לֵאמֹר֒ הָאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתֶּ֛ם בָּאִ֥ים לְרִשְׁתָּ֖הּ אֶ֣רֶץ נִדָּ֣ה הִ֑יא בְּנִדַּ֞ת עַמֵּ֤י הָאֲרָצוֹת֙ בְּתוֹעֲבֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר מִלְא֛וּהָ מִפֶּ֥ה אֶל־פֶּ֖ה בְּטֻמְאָתָֽם׃

which you commanded through your servants the prophets, saying: 'The land you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the impurity of the peoples of the lands, by their detestable practices. They have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness.

KJV Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Ezra attributes this command to the prophets collectively rather than citing a specific text. The words echo Deuteronomy 7:1-4 and Leviticus 18:24-30 but are not a verbatim quotation — Ezra synthesizes the prophetic tradition into a composite statement. The word niddah ('impurity, menstrual uncleanness') is a powerful metaphor drawn from the purity laws — the land itself is ritually contaminated by the practices of its inhabitants. The phrase mi-peh el peh ('from mouth to mouth,' i.e., from one end to the other) describes total contamination.

Ezra 9:12

וְ֠עַתָּ֠ה בְּנוֹתֵיכֶ֞ם אַל־תִּתְּנ֣וּ לִבְנֵיהֶ֗ם וּבְנֹֽתֵיהֶם֙ אַל־תִּשְׂא֣וּ לִבְנֵיכֶ֔ם וְלֹֽא־תִדְרְשׁ֧וּ שְׁלֹמָ֛ם וְטוֹבָתָ֖ם עַד־עוֹלָ֑ם לְמַ֣עַן תֶּחֶזְק֗וּ וַאֲכַלְתֶּם֙ אֶת־ט֣וּב הָאָ֔רֶץ וְהוֹרַשְׁתֶּ֥ם לִבְנֵיכֶ֖ם עַד־עוֹלָֽם׃

So now: do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek their peace or prosperity — ever — so that you may be strong, eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.'

KJV Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The prohibition against seeking 'their peace or prosperity' (shelomam ve-tovatam) echoes the command regarding Ammon and Moab in Deuteronomy 23:6. The promise attached — 'that you may be strong and eat the good of the land' — echoes the land promises throughout Deuteronomy. The inheritance language (ve-horashttem li-vneikhem ad olam, 'leave as an inheritance to your children forever') stakes the future on present obedience.

Ezra 9:13

וְאַחֲרֵ֗י כׇּל־הַבָּ֤א עָלֵ֙ינוּ֙ בְּמַעֲשֵׂ֤ינוּ הָרָעִים֙ וּבְאַשְׁמָתֵ֣נוּ הַגְּדֹלָ֔ה כִּ֤י אַתָּה֙ אֱלֹהֵ֔ינוּ חָשַׂ֥כְתָּ לְמַ֖טָּה מֵעֲוֺנֵ֑נוּ וְנָתַ֥תָּה לָּ֛נוּ פְּלֵיטָ֖ה כָּזֹֽאת׃

After everything that has come upon us because of our evil deeds and our enormous guilt — for you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us a remnant such as this —

KJV And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The phrase chasakta le-mattah me-avonenu ('you held back below our iniquity,' i.e., punished less than deserved) is a remarkable theological admission: the exile was not the full measure of what Israel's sin warranted. God restrained his justice. The word peleitah ('remnant, deliverance') echoes verse 8 — the surviving community is itself evidence of divine restraint.

Ezra 9:14

הֲנָשׁוּב֙ לְהָפֵ֣ר מִצְוֺתֶ֔יךָ וּלְהִתְחַתֵּ֕ן בְּעַמֵּ֖י הַתּוֹעֵב֣וֹת הָאֵ֑לֶּה הֲל֤וֹא תֶאֱנַף־בָּ֙נוּ֙ עַד־כַּלֵּ֔ה לְאֵ֥ין שְׁאֵרִ֖ית וּפְלֵיטָֽה׃

shall we again break your commandments and intermarry with the peoples who practice these detestable things? Would you not be angry with us until you had consumed us, leaving no remnant or survivor?

KJV Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The question is rhetorical and devastating: ha-nashuv le-hafer mitsvotekha ('shall we return to breaking your commandments?'). The expected answer is no — yet the community has done exactly this. The consequence Ezra envisions is total destruction: ad kalleh le-ein she'erit u-feleitah ('until consumption, with no remnant or escape'). This is the prayer's deepest fear: that the remnant given by grace could be annihilated by repeated unfaithfulness.

Ezra 9:15

יְהוָ֞ה אֱלֹהֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ צַדִּ֣יק אַ֔תָּה כִּ֥י נִשְׁאַ֛רְנוּ פְּלֵיטָ֖ה כְּהַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה הִנְנ֤וּ לְפָנֶ֙יךָ֙ בְּאַשְׁמָתֵ֔ינוּ כִּ֣י אֵ֥ין לַעֲמ֛וֹד לְפָנֶ֖יךָ עַל־זֹֽאת׃

LORD, God of Israel, you are righteous — for we survive as a remnant this very day. Here we are before you in our guilt, for no one can stand before you because of this.

KJV O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The prayer ends without a request. There is no 'forgive us' or 'have mercy.' Ezra simply declares God's righteousness (tsaddiq attah) and the community's guilt (be-ashmatenu) and stops. The phrase ki ein la'amod lefanekha al zot ('for no one can stand before you because of this') is the final word — absolute inability to stand before a righteous God. The silence after this verse is the prayer's most powerful statement. Ezra places the community entirely at God's disposal, making no claim on mercy, offering no defense, requesting no pardon. The response will come from the community itself in chapter 10.

Chapter 8 Report an error Ezra index Chapter 10