Discovery BoxEzra 9:4-7 
Context9:4 Everyone who held the words of the God of Israel in awe 1 gathered around me because of the unfaithful acts of the people of the exile. 2 Devastated, I continued to sit there until the evening offering.
9:5 At the time of the evening offering I got up from my self-abasement, 3 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, 4
“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 5 priests, have been delivered over by the local kings 6 to sword, captivity, plunder, and embarrassment – right up to the present time.
1 tn Heb “who trembled at the words of the God of Israel.”
2 tn Heb “the exile”; the words “the people” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
3 tn The Hebrew word used here is a hapax legomenon. It refers to the self-abasement that accompanies religious sorrow and fasting.
4 tn Heb “I said.”
5 tc The MT lacks “and” here, but see the LXX and Vulgate.
6 tn Heb “the kings of the lands.”
