Discovery BoxEzra 9:5-10 
Context9:5 At the time of the evening offering I got up from my self-abasement, 1 with my tunic and robe torn, and then dropped to my knees and spread my hands to the Lord my God. 9:6 I prayed, 2
“O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God! For our iniquities have climbed higher than our heads, and our guilt extends to the heavens. 9:7 From the days of our fathers until this very day our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities we, along with our kings and 3 priests, have been delivered over by the local kings 4 to sword, captivity, plunder, and embarrassment – right up to the present time.
9:8 “But now briefly 5 we have received mercy from the Lord our God, in that he has left us a remnant and has given us a secure position 6 in his holy place. Thus our God has enlightened our eyes 7 and has given us a little relief in our time of servitude. 9:9 Although we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our servitude. He has extended kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, in that he has revived us 8 to restore the temple of our God and to raise 9 up its ruins and to give us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem. 10
9:10 “And now what are we able to say after this, our God? For we have forsaken your commandments
1 tn The Hebrew word used here is a hapax legomenon. It refers to the self-abasement that accompanies religious sorrow and fasting.
2 tn Heb “I said.”
3 tc The MT lacks “and” here, but see the LXX and Vulgate.
4 tn Heb “the kings of the lands.”
5 tn Heb “according to a little moment.”
6 tn Heb “a peg” or “tent peg.” The imagery behind this word is drawn from the experience of nomads who put down pegs as they pitched their tents and made camp after times of travel.
7 tn Heb “to cause our eyes to shine.” The expression is a figure of speech for “to revive.” See DCH 1:160 s.v. אור Hi.7.
8 tn Heb “has granted us reviving.”
9 tn Heb “to cause to stand.”
10 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
