Ezra 9

Ezra 9 belongs to the latter part of the book of Ezra, among the narratives set after Ezra's return. In Ezra 8, Ezra and his company arrived in Jerusalem, presented their offerings, and offered sacrifices. Chapter 9 opens "after these things," when the problem of Israel's intermarriage with foreign peoples comes to light.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 The princes (leaders) report to Ezra that the people, the priests, and the Levites have taken daughters of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites as wives for themselves and their sons, and that the princes and rulers have been foremost in this trespass.
• Verses 3–4 Ezra tears his garment and his mantle, plucks out the hair of his head and beard, and sits astonished until the evening sacrifice. Those who tremble at the words of God gather around him.
• Verses 5–7 At the evening sacrifice Ezra falls on his knees, spreads out his hands, and prays. He confesses that because of sins accumulated since the days of their fathers, Israel was delivered into the hands of the kings of the lands.
• Verses 8–9 He gives thanks that God has left a remnant and granted them mercy in the sight of the kings of Persia, enabling them to rebuild the temple.
• Verses 10–12 He confesses that, despite this, they have broken the commandment not to intermarry with the foreign peoples.
• Verses 13–15 He acknowledges that God has punished them less than their iniquities deserved, yet they have sinned again, so that no one can stand before Him; and he confesses that the Lord is righteous.

Key Verses

• Ezra 9:6 "Our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens" — Ezra identifies himself with the people, confessing the sin as "our" sin.
• Ezra 9:8 "To give us a nail in his holy place" — an image comparing the remnant's renewed foothold after the exile to a firmly driven nail.
• Ezra 9:15 "Thou art righteous" — a confession at the close of the prayer acknowledging God's righteousness.

People and Places

• Ezra: A priest and a scribe skilled in the law. He is the one who prays in this chapter.
• The princes and rulers: Leaders of the returned community. They both report the problem and are themselves identified as foremost in the intermarriages.
• Canaan, Ammon, Moab, Egypt, and others: The list appears to draw on the names of peoples with whom marriage and alliances were forbidden in passages such as Deuteronomy 7:1–3 and 23:6.
• Persia: The Persian Empire, which permitted the return of the Jewish people and the rebuilding of the temple.
• Jerusalem and Judah: The area where the returned community settled.

Points for Reflection

• The nature of the marriage prohibition: Many interpreters hold that the prohibition arose from concern about idolatry rather than ethnic lineage. Some interpreters also point to a tension when the chapter is read alongside the story of Ruth, a Moabite woman who became an ancestor of David.
• Corporate repentance: Although Ezra had not personally committed the sin, he confesses in the first person plural. For this reason the chapter is read, together with the prayers in Nehemiah 9 and Daniel 9:1–3, as an example of a prayer confessing the community's sins on its behalf.
• Relationship to the New Testament: In 1 Corinthians 7:12–16, Paul instructs believers not to leave an unbelieving spouse who is willing to remain. Accordingly, many hold that caution is needed in applying this chapter directly to questions of marriage today.
• The chapter ends with the prayer. The decision to send away the foreign wives follows in Ezra 10.

In the Korean Church

Ezra's prayer is frequently cited in sermons as a model of repentance and intercessory confession. The images of the "remnant" and the "nail" in 9:8 are also used in sermons on the grace of restoration. The chapter is sometimes mentioned in sermons encouraging believers to marry fellow believers.