Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezra 9:5-15

"And at the evening oblation I arose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe rent; and I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto Jehovah my God; and I 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 guiltiness is grown up unto the heavens. Since the days of our fathers we have been exceeding guilty 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 plunder, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. And now for a little moment grace hath been showed from Jehovah 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. For we are bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended lovingkindness 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 ruins thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments, which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land through the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their filthiness: now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity 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. And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great guilt, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such a remnant, shall we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the peoples that do these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? 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 9:5-15 (ASV)

Ezra’s prayer of confession and deprecation.

(Ezra 9:5) And at the evening sacrifice I arose up.—Until the afternoon Ezra had sat silent and in grief before the Temple, and in the presence of the people. Then, amid the solemnities of the sacrifice, he uttered the prayer he had been meditating.

(Ezra 9:6) And said, O my God.—The confession begins with O my God; but Ezra is the representative of the people, and it proceeds O our God (Ezra 9:10), without once returning to the first person.

(Ezra 9:7) Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass.—In these Common Prayers of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel, the race of Israel is regarded as one, and national sins as one great trespass. The repetition of this day at the beginning and at the end of the verse is to be observed: in the former place in reference to the sin; in the latter in reference to the punishment.

(Ezra 9:8) A little space.—The word little here and at the close of the sentence is emphatic. All the present signs of mercy are said, at the conclusion of the prayer (Ezra 9:14), to be conditional in their continuance. The little space from the time of Cyrus was nearly two generations, but it was only a moment in relation to the past and the possible future. The idea is inverted in Isaiah 54:7: For a small moment have I forsaken thee.

(Ezra 9:8) Nail in his holy place.—The Temple was itself the sure nail on which all their hopes hung.

(Ezra 9:8) A little reviving.—Literally, make us a little life. The present revival was only the beginning, and still precarious, as indicated by many signs.

(Ezra 9:9) We were bondmen.—Better, we are bondmen. In this lies the emphasis of the appeal.

(Ezra 9:9) A wall.—Like the nail, this is a figurative expression for security. The literal wall was not yet rebuilt. This completes the description of Divine mercy: first, the people were a delivered remnant; the Temple was a sure nail for the future of religion; and their civil state was made secure.

(Ezra 9:10) After this.—But all was a mercy for which there had been no adequate return.

(Ezra 9:11) Saying.—In the later Old Testament Scriptures, quotations from earlier ones often take this form, giving the substance of many passages. The same style is observable in the New Testament.

(Ezra 9:12) Give not your daughters.—See Deuteronomy 7:3, the only place where the prohibition includes both daughters and sons. It is noteworthy that the giving of daughters in marriage to heathens is not mentioned either in Ezra or in Nehemiah.

(Ezra 9:12) Nor seek their peace.—This is an evident echo of that most stern command in Deuteronomy 23:6.

(Ezra 9:15) O Lord God of Israel, thou art righteous.—The solemn invocation shows that this is a summary of the whole prayer. God’s righteousness is magnified, accompanied by the grace that had preserved them, though only as a remnant. As such, they were covered with their trespasses, and especially with this present trespass, the guilt of which underlies all.