Ezra 9:1–15
9 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race1 has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” 3 As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. 4 Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, 6 saying:
“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. 7 From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today. 8 But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold2 within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. 9 For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection3 in Judea and Jerusalem.
10 “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. 12 Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, 14 shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? 15 O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.”
1 Hebrew offspring 2 Hebrew nail, or tent-pin 3 Hebrew a wall
Section Overview
The second return from Babylonia to Jerusalem is recounted in two acts (Ezra 7; 8). By the good hand of God, referenced in all stages of the journey (7:6, 9, 28; 8:18, 22, 31), the community surmounts many challenges. Appropriately, the prior chapter concluded with offerings of praise to God for safe arrival. With the setting established, the returned exiles have readied themselves for a new life in the land.
However, conflict arises. Playing out in another two acts, chapters 9 and 10 recount the crisis of intermarriage and provide a case study for Ezra’s ministry. In his calling from the Lord, his specialty is the law of God, and he has devoted himself to its study and practice and to teaching it to others (7:10). Likewise, the human king Artaxerxes has authorized him to “make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God” (7:14). The crisis of intermarriage (ch. 9) provides an immediate situation for him to put this knowledge and skill to work.
The chapter consists of three parts. Officials inform Ezra that intermarriage has led to the mixing of the returned exiles with the “peoples of the lands” (9:1–2). Desolated by the news, Ezra mourns (vv. 3–4). His prayer of confession covers the remainder of the chapter (vv. 5–15), further subdivided into four parts (vv. 5–7, 8–9, 10–11, 12–15). Ezra concludes, “None can stand before you because of this,” preparing us for the resolution in the next and final chapter.
Section Outline
II.C.2. Mixed Marriages: Crises and Resolution (9:1–10:44)
a. Crisis: Report Leads to Mourning and Confession (9:1–15)
(1) Report to Ezra about Lack of Separation of the “Holy Seed” (9:1–2)
(2) Response of Ezra: Acts of Mourning (9:3–4)
(3) Prayer of Ezra: Confession at Evening Sacrifice (9:5–15)
Response
Sin brings mourning. By his outward acts of mourning, Ezra separates himself and sits “appalled” (9:4) as prior rejoicing turns to lamentation (8:35–36; Amos 8:10). He admits that intermarriages run the risk of dissolving the remnant into the surrounding culture. And he is devastated, tearing his clothes and pulling out his hair as one might do to mourn death. It is true that, unlike in the ancient Near East, many cultures today no longer tear garments or hair in response to the emotional distress of death. But understanding the depth of our sin as a kind of death that demands such a response will help us to mourn sin’s presence more appropriately.
The intermarriage prohibition and the command to “never seek their peace or prosperity” (Ezra 9:12) become easy targets for uniform dismissal of the OT. Yet the call to be holy and separate from the world remains an important principle for the church in all ages. This is true of Jesus’ teaching (Matt. 5:14; John 17:14–17) and apostolic discipleship (2 Cor. 6:14–7:1; Eph. 1:4; 5:27; 1 Pet. 1:15–16; 2 John 10). It must also be noted that these commands provide no justification today for prohibiting marriage between persons of different tribes, races, or nations. Rather, the issue concerns ultimate heart commitments (2 Cor. 2:15–16). Moreover, these commands do not mean complete separation from those who do not follow Christ (1 Cor. 5:9–10). Gaining the proper balance between cultural engagement and separation requires God’s wisdom both individually and corporately, even as we seek another city “whose designer and builder is God” (Heb. 11:8–10; cf. Phil. 3:20).
Amid the sin of this chapter, it is the steadfast love of God that motivates obedience and is the only source of new life (Ezra 9:8–9). While we live, hope remains. God does not treat us as our sins deserve but preserves a people for their good and his glory. Ezra twice focuses on the escaped remnant as evidence of God’s faithful love to his people. Instead of demanding repentance, Ezra urges them to ponder the question of how they shall then live in response to God’s mercy (vv. 8, 13–14). The historical circumstances of the apostle Paul’s day differed, but the principle yet remains: separation from the world and presentation of ourselves as “living sacrifices” does not earn God’s favor but is a response to the merciful love he shows us in Christ, a love that motivates holiness (Rom. 12:1–2).
We may note, finally, how Ezra models the role of mediator on behalf of his people. Like a faithful pastor, Ezra knows when to identify with the congregation in its sin and suffering. At times, as with the prophet Elijah, the pronouns “I” and “they” may produce distance in addressing the people’s unfaithfulness (1 Kings 19:10). Conversely, Ezra intercedes for the community and numbers himself with the transgressors using “our,” “we,” or “us” throughout his confession (even though he himself has not intermarried). Their iniquity and guilt are his, and he longs for their holiness. The definitive expression of such a mediator comes in the “one mediator” Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5–6), the faithful High Priest who was numbered with the transgressors and identified fully with their sins (Isa. 53:12). In “faithlessness” (Ezra 9:2; cf. Rom. 4:16) no one can stand before God. However, in union with Jesus Christ, our sins are removed, his righteousness is ours, and we stand with the righteous remnant in the city of the living God (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 12:22–24). In light of this, let us be quick to confess sin, turn from it, and look to God for the mercy he makes so freely available to us in Jesus.
Hebrew offspring
Hebrew nail, or tent-pin
Hebrew a wall
9:1–2 “After these things” marks a new pericope subsequent to events depicted in Ezra 8:35–36. Four months have passed since Ezra’s arrival (cf. 7:8 with 10:9), and Ezra recounts the story in first-person narrative.
Some leaders, “the officials” (Hb. hassarim), approach Ezra in crisis. These persons may be synonymous with those already established as “the heads of fathers’ houses” (8:29) or with “rulers” of administrative districts (Neh. 3:9). While the problem clearly envelopes the whole community, the accusation singles out “officials” and others labeled “chief men” (Ezra 9:2). This latter group refers to lower-level leaders. In short, persons who have previously returned from exile, and particularly leaders, are censured for not “separat[ing] themselves from the peoples of the lands” (v. 1).
This intermixing is forbidden since it puts the returnees in contact with the abominations of the “peoples of the lands,” abominations associated with enemies from Israel’s past. For the returnees this list of enemies would evoke God’s original promise to bring Israel to the land and fight for them (Ex. 3:8, 17; 23:23; Josh. 3:10). Israel was commanded to drive out these nations and inherit the land as a gift (Deut. 31:3–6; Josh. 1:1–6; 21:43–45). It was in part due to these nations’ abominations that intermarriage with them was originally prohibited (Ex. 34:11–16; Deut. 7:1–5; Judg. 3:5–6). In this context “abominations” likely refer to false worship and related practices that the Lord deems reprehensible (Deut. 12:31; 20:18; 2 Kings 21:1–7). Sadly, for Israelites to intermarry and express fidelity and devotion to their foreign human spouses means adultery and breaking faith with the Lord as their Husband (Hos. 2:16–20).
The key word “faithlessness” (Ezra 9:2, 4; 10:6) and its comparable verb (10:2, 10; translated “to break faith” or “to act treacherously”) have various uses. They may refer to treating what is holy as common inadvertently (Lev. 5:15), disobeying commands outright (Josh. 7:1; 22:16–20), or pursuing the “gods of the peoples of the land” (1 Chron. 5:25) and can be found in parallel to stiff-necked unbelief (2 Chron. 30:7–8). King Solomon, by his marriage to foreign women (Neh. 13:23–27; 1 Kings 11:1–13), was the supreme model of acting “treacherously.” The actual concern is not ethnicity or race. Instead, the major dynamic is wholehearted engagement to be the Lord’s (Deut. 6:4–9). Indeed, outsiders who separated themselves “from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land” were permitted to join with Israel and participate in the benefits of the community (Ezra 6:21–22; cf. Ex. 2:21; 12:38; Josh. 6:25; Ruth 1:4; 4:13–22; 2 Kings 5:1–19).
Another concern over the intermarrying is ritual impurity. By intermarrying, the “holy race” (lit., “holy seed,” “offspring”) becomes unholy—not for genetic reasons but because by mixing with the ritually impure they themselves become impure (cf. Deut. 23:2; Ps. 106:34–39). In turn, becoming unholy threatens their elect status as Abraham’s offspring (Gen. 17:7–9; Deut. 7:6–8), mixing together what the Lord has kept apart. Not only so, but “holy seed” identifies the promised remnant preserved and replanted after the judgment of exile (Isa. 6:13; Jer. 31:27–28; Neh. 9:2) and the offspring, Jesus Christ, who was promised to rule over that holy seed (Gen. 3:15; 22:17–18; Jer. 33:25–26; Gal. 3:16). Israel was to be careful always to guard this holy seed.
9:3–4 Ezra immediately responds with a series of public actions in front of the temple (cf. 10:1). In grief he tears his garments (9:3, 5) and removes his hair, signifying humiliation, death, and mourning (Job 1:20; Isa. 15:2; Joel 2:12–13). There may be a wordplay here, as the maʻal (“faithlessness”; Ezra 9:2) of the people leads to the tearing of Ezra’s meʻil (“cloak”; v. 3). When one is overcome by excessive sorrow, a proper response may be stunned silence (Job 2:13). So too Ezra sits “appalled,” mourning this corporate death for a breach of faith (cf. Josh. 7:1, 6).
In contrast to the excitement of the prior gathering (Ezra 7:28; 8:15), persons now gather continuously about Ezra in solidarity with his mourning (9:4b). They assemble because they are “trembling” with fear and awe at God’s word (cf. Isa. 66:2, 5), perhaps considering the impact of the words found in Ezra 9:2 (cf. Deut. 7:3). They also mourn the “faithlessness” of returned exiles. Having suffered the physical and mental effects of exilic trauma that came because of faithlessness (2 Chron. 36:14–20), who could blame them for fear and trembling in the face of a new outbreak of faithlessness?
9:5–7 Ezra confesses past iniquities and present results. The temporal notice (“at the evening sacrifice”) and new actions (“I rose . . .”) make verse 5 the introduction to the prayer. By arising from his fasting, Ezra leaves behind his prior acts of self-affliction to embrace agonizing confession. Ripping garments and hair leads him to bended knees and hands “spread out . . . to the Lord” (cf. 1 Kings 8:54). It is personal for Ezra. The verbs “I am ashamed and blush,” frequently found together (Isa. 45:16, 17; 50:7), express the reality of Ezra’s first-person emotional pain at this corporate failure. Had the community responded in Jeremiah’s day in like manner, perhaps exile could have been delayed or averted (Jer. 6:13–15; 8:8–12; Ezek. 36:25).
Ezra’s shame and dishonor before God arise from “our iniquities” (Ezra 9:6, 7, 13), which resulted in “our guilt” (vv. 6, 7, 13, 15; 10:10, 19). Using metaphors, Ezra characterizes their iniquity (i.e., violations of God’s standards) as having “risen higher than our heads,” while the resulting guilt (i.e., liability to punishment) extends to heaven itself. His historical abstract in 9:7 focuses on prior judgments. Their “great guilt” stretches from ancestral past to the present. The “cumulative iniquities” that gave rise to that guilt resulted in conquest (“given into the hand”), further detailed as death, servitude (exile), and financial loss. These summarize the extensive consequences for covenantal breach found in the Pentateuch (Lev. 26:14–39; Deut. 28:15–68). The personal shame ends in corporate “utter shame, as it is today.” Although the heat of judgment has passed, effects remain. By including himself with “we, “our,” or “us” in nearly every verse of the entire confession, Ezra shows himself to be a faithful priest, fully identifying with the iniquity, guilt, and punishment of his people.
9:8–9 “But now” (Hb. weʻattah) marks the eye of the storm, described as a “brief moment” of God’s favor. This refers to the short eighty years from Cyrus to Artaxerxes. These verses, saturated with the goodness of God, function rhetorically to interpret God’s character and Israel’s recent history. The words “favor” (v. 8) and “steadfast love” (hesed; v. 9) form two hubs from which four spokes extend.
In verse 8 the Lord shows favor: to leave a remnant, to give a secure hold, to brighten the eyes, and to give reviving. This “favor” is often found in parallel with “prayer,” in which cases it is translated “plea,” as in a plea for mercy (1 Kings 8:28, 30, 45, 49). With the “Lord our God” as its source, “favor” explains Israel’s continued existence as a people. Several nouns throughout Ezra’s prayer may be translated “remnant” (peletah, Ezra 9:8, 13, 14, 15; sheʼerit, v. 14). This English term may refer to anyone who escapes or survives a disaster. Here it is a technical term for the postexilic community that experienced deliverance (Neh. 1:2; Hag. 1:12; Zech. 8:6). With the second verbal complement, “to give us a secure hold,” Ezra uses the term for “peg” (“secure hold”; cf. ESV mg.) to communicate a rebuilt temple (“his holy place”; cf. Ps. 24:3; Lev. 10:17; 14:13) that has provided them a sense of stability. From these, the final two verbal complements result. Where there was once mourning and death (cf. Pss. 13:2–3; 38:9–10; Ezek. 37:1–14), there is now restored vigor (“brighten our eyes”; cf. 1 Sam. 14:29) in an enlivened community (“grant us . . . reviving”).
Repeating key themes from Ezra 9:8 (e.g., reviving, temple presence), the first half of verse 9 provides an important truth: when God’s people are most oppressed, his steadfast love (hesed) is most evident. As earlier (cf. 7:27–28; Hos. 2:19–20), the favorable acts of Persian kings are confirmation of God’s covenantal commitment: to give reviving, to set up the house, to repair its ruins, to give a wall. Of all the elements of exilic judgment (Ezra 9:7), subjection to Persian kings persists, and yet God has not forsaken them. If “protection” (gader, “wall”; cf. NASB) is interpreted as Nehemiah’s rebuilt wall, then Ezra must have arrived after the wall was built by Nehemiah (445 BC). However, its use as a figure of speech elsewhere (e.g., “wall of protection”; cf. Hos. 2:6; Ezek. 13:5; 22:30) promotes a figurative use here. While the protection envisioned includes that of Persian kings, the context of the Lord’s faithfulness remains the source of all restorative work among his people (Isa. 31:5; Zech. 8:1–5).
9:10–11 “And now” (Hb. weʻattah) sets off the third subdivision of the confession. With “after this,” Ezra strains to find a way forward. How could God’s people continually “forsake” his commandments when God had so evidently not forsaken them? These “commandments” do not come from a specific place in Scripture. Instead, Ezra presents a collage of scriptural phrases summarizing the incessant prophetic call to covenantal fidelity from Moses onward (Deut. 18:15; 2 Kings 17:13, 23; 21:10–12; 24:2; Jer. 7:25–26).
The statement in Ezra 9:11 provides the rationale for the introduction of the specific commandment that follows (v. 12). The word “impure” most frequently refers to the ritual impurity of menstruation (Lev. 15:19–24), which was considered highly defiling due to the loss of human blood. Normal bodily functions were not a moral issue. However, in the joining of “land” and “impurity,” ritual uncleanness becomes a metaphor for moral uncleanness (Ezek. 36:17–18; cf. Isa. 64:6; Lam. 1:17). The worship of false gods and associated “abominable practices” (Deut. 18:9; cf. 2 Kings 16:3; 21:2; Ezek. 16:47) made the land and persons in it unclean and led to the removal not only of its original inhabitants (Lev. 18:24–30) but eventually of both Israel and Judah.
9:12–15 Although the marker “therefore” (Hb. weʻattah; v. 12) clearly continues Ezra’s prayer and the patchwork of scriptural passages begun in verse 11, it also transitions to the specific prohibition against intermarriage (vv. 12, 14; cf. Deut. 7:3; Neh. 10:30) and Ezra’s implicit call to repent in his conclusion. Associated with the commandment not to intermarry is the command to “never seek their peace or prosperity” (Ezra 9:12). This nearly verbatim citation was originally given in the context of illicit relationships and applied to the Moabites and Ammonites (Deut. 23:2–6)—both the offspring of illicit relationship (Gen. 19:30–38). Through obedience to this command, Israel would fulfill her calling to inherit and pass on the land to her children (i.e., “be strong”) and likewise experience the blessings of its produce (Deut. 6:11; 11:8–12; Josh. 1:6–9; 5:12; 14:9; 1 Chron. 28:8).
These commandments were given because of God’s love for his people and their missional call to be holy; obedience to them was a way for them to express their love for him (Deut. 7:1–8; Josh. 23:11–13; John 14:15). The mitigation of punishment in the middle of Ezra 9:13 (“seeing that you . . . have given us such a remnant as this”) explains the whole rationale of verses 13–14—judgment is not the end. Even in judgment, God’s abundant mercy has been evident by virtue of their ongoing existence as a people—it might have been worse. In light of such mercy, how could they now persist in intermarrying and risk the destruction of the surviving remnant? Ezra’s concluding statement in verse 15 confesses unequivocally that the Lord is “just” (NASB “righteous”) and that his past judgments that left them as only a remnant were true and right (Deut. 32:4–6; 2 Chron. 12:6; Ps. 119:137). Ezra also confesses their guilt without qualification, implying that the righteous God would be justified in utterly destroying them. In light of their continued existence, hope yet remains. How will they respond to Ezra’s public prayer of confession and its implicit call to repent?