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Ezra's Prayer of Confession
Ezra 9:5–15 records a prayer of confession. Ezra speaks with grief, admits guilt before God, remembers God’s kindness, repeats the command that was broken, and ends by saying God is righteous while the people stand guilty.
Understanding the passage
Read these words in context
This passage is a prayer, not another incident. It begins at the evening offering, with Ezra kneeling and spreading out his hands to Yahweh. The prayer looks back over the people’s long guilt, God’s recent grace to leave a remnant, and the commandments given through the prophets.
Ezra 9:5–15Main takeaway
This prayer teaches that confession tells the truth about sin, remembers God’s mercy, and admits that God is righteous.
Explore the prayer
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01Ezra approaches God in humiliationThe prayer opens with visible humility. Ezra rises at the evening offering with torn garment and robe, falls on his knees, and spreads out his hands to Yahweh.
Explanation
The prayer opens with visible humility. Ezra rises at the evening offering with torn garment and robe, falls on his knees, and spreads out his hands to Yahweh. These actions fit the words that follow, where he says he is ashamed to lift his face because their iniquities and guilt have become very great.
02He confesses a long history of guiltEzra does not speak as if this problem began that day. He says the people have been exceedingly guilty since the days of their fathers.
Explanation
Ezra does not speak as if this problem began that day. He says the people have been exceedingly guilty since the days of their fathers. He includes kings and priests as well. He connects that guilt with being handed over to foreign kings, captivity, plunder, and public shame.
03He remembers God’s grace to a remnantThe prayer is not only sorrowful. Ezra says that for a little moment grace has been shown by Yahweh, leaving a remnant to escape and giving them a stake in his holy place.
04He names the command they have forsakenEzra then says plainly, “we have forsaken your commandments”. He refers to what God commanded through the prophets about the land’s uncleanness and the peoples’ abominations.
Explanation
Ezra then says plainly, “we have forsaken your commandments”. He refers to what God commanded through the prophets about the land’s uncleanness and the peoples’ abominations. The specific command he quotes forbids giving sons and daughters in marriage and seeking those peoples’ peace or prosperity forever.
05He ends by agreeing that God is righteousAt the close, Ezra says God has punished them less than their iniquities deserve and still given a remnant.
Explanation
At the close, Ezra says God has punished them less than their iniquities deserve and still given a remnant. That makes renewed disobedience even more serious. So he ends without excuses: Yahweh is righteous, the people are before him in guiltiness, and no one can stand before him because of this.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01What words in the prayer show both Ezra’s shame and his honesty before God?
Look for his statements about being ashamed to lift his face and about iniquities and guilt growing very great.
02How does Ezra describe God’s kindness even while the people are still in bondage?
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Ezra 9:5–15
5At the evening offering I rose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn; and I fell on my knees, and spread out my hands to Yahweh my God;
6and I said, “My God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have increased over our head, and our guiltiness has grown up to the heavens.
7Since the days of our fathers we have been exceedingly guilty to this day; and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.
8Now for a little moment grace has been shown from Yahweh our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a stake in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and revive us a little in our bondage.
9For we are bondservants; yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended loving kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to set up the house of our God, and to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
10“Now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments,
11which you have commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land to which you go to possess is an unclean land through the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their filthiness.
12Now therefore don’t give your daughters to their sons. Don’t take their daughters to your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity forever, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’
13“After all that has come on us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such a remnant,
14shall we again break your commandments, and join ourselves with the peoples that do these abominations? Wouldn’t you be angry with us until you had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant, nor any to escape?
15Yahweh, the God of Israel, you are righteous; for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guiltiness; for no one can stand before you because of this.”