Albert Barnes Commentary Ezra 9:15

"O Jehovah, the God of Israel, thou art righteous; for we are left a remnant that is escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our guiltiness; for none can stand before thee because of this." — Ezra 9:15 (ASV)

Some take “righteous” to mean here “kind” or “merciful.” Others give it the more usual sense of “just,” and understand the full meaning of the passage to be, “You are righteous, and have punished us, because of our sin, the contraction of forbidden marriages, so that we are a mere remnant of what was once a great people.”