Ezra 8

Chap. X. ver. 1. — there assembled unto him &c.] This prayer being made at the time of evening sacrifice, when many assembled for publick worship; and being uttered with great passion, and the highest expressions of grief and sorrow; those who were present were very much moved to see such a person as Ezra, a priest of God, and a great ruler under the king of Persia, so dejected with fear, confusion, and astonishment. The report of the circumstance, it appears, was presently carried through Jerusalem, and the neighbouring places, which brought together a great number of persons of all descriptions, making great lamentations, and considering themselves to be under the heavy displeasure of the Almighty. Bp. Patrick.

Ezra 8:2

2. — the holy seed] The Jews are called “the holy seed,” on account of God’s covenant with them, making them a peculiar people separate from all other nations. Bp. Patrick.

3. — yet now there is hope in Israel] There is hope in God’s mercy that He will pardon us in this thing, provided we truly repent. Dr. Wells.

Ezra 8:3

3. — I rent my garment and my mantle.] I rent both my upper and my inner garment, in token of my great grief and fear of God’s displeasure for such a sin; “and plucked off the hair &c.” as a still stronger token of my grief and alarm; “and sat down astonied” that the people could have been guilty of such a flagrant sin, so shortly after their return from that captivity which had been occasioned by similar sins in their ancestors. Dr. Wells.

After the example of Exra, all good men do confess and lament, not only their own miscarriages, but those of others, and implore God’s pardon for them. Bp. Wilson.

3. — let us make a covenant &c.] Let us, as a token of sincere repentance, take a solemn oath in the name of God to put away our wives, &c. Dr. Wells.

Ezra 8:4

4. — of those that had been carried away:] Of those who had been carried in captivity to Babylon, and had now returned so little amended; he speaks of those who had returned some years ago with Zerubbabel. Bp. Patrick.

5. Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee:] “Arise”

from the ground on which thou liest prostrate; for the management of this matter belongeth unto thee in chief, as not only best skilled in the law, but also, as having full power from the king of Persia to rectify every thing according to the law. Dr. Wells.

Ezra 8:6

6. — O my God, I am ashamed and blush &c.] With what trouble and confusion does Exra here acknowledge and bewail the sins of his offending people! and, in a similar manner, should the people of all sinful nations, at the solemn appointed seasons of fasting and humiliation, set their sins in order before them with all their

Exra prayeth CHAP. IX. X. unto God. Before CHRIST 457.

we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.

moment.

6. — and when he came thither,] The word “when” is not in the Hebrew: the passage had perhaps better be translated, “till he came thither, he had eaten no bread, &c.” Bp. Patrick.

Ezra 8:8

8. — to give us a nail] To give us a fixed or settled abode, as it is explained in the margin. Since the tents in which the Hebrews once lived were fastened down by nails or pins, therefore “a nail” came to signify in their language “a settled abode.” Bp. Patrick. See the note from Bp. Lowth on Isai. xxii. 23.

9. — all his substance should be forfeited,] In the Hebrew, “should be devoted.” It signifies that his goods were to be so forfeited, as to become sacred to God, and thus incapable of being restored to the former owner, being placed in the treasury of God’s house. Bp. Patrick.

Ezra 8:9

9. — to give us a reviving,] The restoration of the Jews is here called “a reviving.” In a similar manner Ezekiel compares them, when they were captive in Babylon, to the dry bones of dead men, Ezek. xxxvii. 1. Bp. Patrick.

— and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.] This expression is not to be understood literally: the original word, translated “wall,” signifies “the fence of a shepherd’s fold;” it is here figuratively taken to express the establishment of the Jews in their former land of Judah, and in their city Jerusalem. Dr. Hales.

9. — sat in the street of the house of God,] They sat probably in the court of the people, where they worshipped; which lying open to the air, and being not yet perhaps girt about with a wall, as we may gather from Neh. ii. 8, is called “a street.” They were “trembling” because of the offence they had committed, and their dread of its consequences; “and for the great rain,” which fell at the time, and which they believed to be a token of God’s anger against them, on account of their transgression. Bp. Patrick. The rains of December are sometimes extremely cold in the Holy Land. Harmer.

Ezra 8:12

12. — As thou hast said, so must we do.] We should

Ezra 8:13

13. — hast penalised as less than our iniquities deserve,] The Greek translation expresses it very emphatically, “Thou hast eased us of our sins;” that is, Thou hast not let the whole weight of them fall on us. It is here only said with reference to the Jews, that the punishment of a long captivity, which God had inflicted on them, was beneath the desert of their sins; but it is universally true, that all temporal punishments inflicted on men are far less than their iniquities deserve. Were it not for the merciful mitigations of God’s righteous displeasure, the sinner would not be able to bear it, but would utterly sink under it. Abp. Tillotson.

— and hast given us such deliverance as this:] We

Ezra 8:14

14. — wouldest not thou be angry &c.] These words, in the form of a question, convey a strong and peremptory affirmation; as if he had said, After such a provocation there is great reason to conclude that God would be angry with us till He had consumed us. And the inference to be drawn from the expression is, that it is a fearful aggravation of sin, and a sad presage of ruin to a people after great judgments and deliverances, to return to sin, and especially to the same sins again. Abp. Tillotson.

Ezra 8:15

15. — thou art righteous: for we remain &c.] It is of Thy long-suffering that we are here permitted to live and to approach Thy sacred presence; and it can be nothing less than a wonderful measure of compassion which can pardon our present guilt, and save us from the punishment we deserve. Pyle.

The prayer which Exra made on this occasion is very instructive. He herein acknowledges, with profound humility, that the sins of the Jews had obliged the Lord to chastise them, and had reduced them to the servile condition in which they were. This shews us that in the evils which we suffer we should always give glory to God, and acknowledge the righteousness of His judgments. And as Exra, after he had confessed the sins of the Jews, promised they should no more break the

Shechaniah encouraged Ezra to reform the strange marriages. Before CHRIST 457. amendment. 15 The oars to perform it.

Ezra 8:20

20. Also of the Nethinims, whom &c.] This is a clear account who the Nethinims were; not Levites, and probably not natural Israelites, but some whom the kings and nobles had given to the Levites for slaves. Dr. Wall.

Ezra 8:22

22. For I was ashamed &c.] Ezra had so openly declared his dependence on God for safe conduct on his journey, that he was ashamed to ask a guard of protection from the king, who, being little instructed in Divine matters, might have imagined that the Jews only made vain boasts of the favour of God towards them, and of the prophecies respecting their restoration. Thus, had Ezra petitioned for protection and defence from the king, his motives would have been probably mistaken, as if he distrusted the power and favour of God. This then made it the more necessary that he should appoint a solemn fast, in which they might “afflict themselves before their God,” ver. 21; that is, humbly and sorrowfully acknowledge their offences towards Him, and “seek of Him a right way;” that is, implore Him to prosper them on their journey. Bp. Patrick.

Ezra 8:23

23. So we fasted and besought &c.] This behaviour of Ezra and his associates, in imploring the blessing of

the Almighty by fasting and prayer, might well serve to convince the idolatrous people among whom they lived, that they had a perfect confidence in the Divine protection. Thus good men ever trust in God rather than in man; they seek their principal security in prayer, and God on His part hears their prayers and blesses them, as He did Ezra. Ostervold.

Ezra 8:26

26. — six hundred and fifty talents &c.] Making together a million sterling of our money. Bp. Wilson.

Ezra 8:28

28. — Ye are holy unto the Lord; &c.] On delivering the treasures into their custody, he solemnly charges them, that they must remember they were God’s priests and stewards, and the treasures committed to them His peculiar right and property; and therefore, that no care, courage, pains, or hazard, could be too great for keeping them safe, and delivering them justly and punctually into the temple treasury at Jerusalem, where both priests and Levites, and the whole council of the nation, would be witnesses, either of their fidelity, or of their dishonesty, in discharging this important trust. Pyle.

Ezra 8:32

32. And we came to Jerusalem.] It appears from chap. vii. 9, that they came to Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, having spent four months in the urny

Exra mourneth for the affinity of the people with strangers.

the silver and the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with him was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites;

Ezra 8:36

36. — and they furthered the people.] The king’s lieutenants and governours fully obeyed the orders of the king, and contributed every thing requisite for the temple and its services. Pyle.

Chap. IX. ver. 1. — doing according to their abominations, &c.] This expression is commonly used in Scripture to signify the worshipping of idols; but here signifies, in general, imitation of the heathen in promiscuous marriages with any nation whatever, which would soon heal to the commission of idolatry. The marriages of the Jews with the seven nations had been expressly forbidden at Deut. vii. 2, 3; and the same law extended to all nations not proselyted to the Jewish religion. Even before the law of Moses it seems to have been deemed unlawful, after they had received the covenant of circumcision, to intermarry with other nations that were uncircumcised, Gen. xxxiv. 14. Bp. Patrick.

All the nations then in the world, except the Jews, were idolaters. Therefore, to forbid marriage with idolaters was the same to the Jews, as to forbid marriage with any who were not of their communion. That the prohibition to the Jews of marrying with the heathens was not on account of their nation, but their religion, is proved by the fact, that this is the reason given for the command, in almost every place where the command is repeated. Leslie.

abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.