Ezra 9:9

For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Ezra 9:9. For we were bondmen — In greater bondage than that in which we now are. Our God hath extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia — Hath given us to find favour in their eyes. To give us a reviving — To recover us from the grave of dreadful calamities in which we lay, like dead men and dry bones, Ezekiel 37:1. To repair the desolations thereof — Of the temple: either to build the house where there was only a heap of the ruins of the old temple, or to frequent and celebrate the worship of God in that place which had long lain desolate and neglected. And to give us a wall — The protection of the kings of Persia, whose edicts were their security against all those enemies wherewith they were encompassed: and the gracious providence of God, which had planted them in their own land, and watched over them from time to time.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

9:5-15 The sacrifice, especially the evening sacrifice, was a type of the blessed Lamb of God, who in the evening of the world, was to take away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Ezra's address is a penitent confession of sin, the sin of his people. But let this be the comfort of true penitents, that though their sins reach to the heavens, God's mercy is in the heavens. Ezra, speaking of sin, speaks as one much ashamed. Holy shame is as necessary in true repentance as holy sorrow. Ezra speaks as much amazed. The discoveries of guilt cause amazement; the more we think of sin, the worse it looks. Say, God be merciful to me sinner. Ezra speaks as one much afraid. There is not a surer or saddler presage of ruin, than turning to sin, after great judgments, and great deliverances. Every one in the church of God, has to wonder that he has not wearied out the Lord's patience, and brought destruction upon himself. What then must be the case of the ungodly? But though the true penitent has nothing to plead in his own behalf, the heavenly Advocate pleads most powerfully for him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

We were bondmen - Rather, "we are bondmen" (compare the marginal reference). The Israelites, though returned from the captivity, were still "bondmen." The Persian monarch was their absolute lord and master.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Ezr 9:5-15. Prays to God.

5-15. I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God—The burden of his prayer, which was dictated by a deep sense of the emergency, was that he was overwhelmed at the flagrant enormity of this sin, and the bold impiety of continuing in it after having, as a people, so recently experienced the heavy marks of the divine displeasure. God had begun to show returning favor to Israel by the restoration of some. But this only aggravated their sin, that, so soon after their re-establishment in their native land, they openly violated the express and repeated precepts which commanded them to extirpate the Canaanites. Such conduct, he exclaimed, could issue only in drawing down some great punishment from offended Heaven and ensuring the destruction of the small remnant of us that is left, unless, by the help of divine grace, we repent and bring forth the fruits of repentance in an immediate and thorough reformation.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

We were bondmen, i.e. in greater bondage than that in which we now are.

Hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, i.e. hath given us to find favour in their eyes.

To give us a reviving; to recover us from the grave of dreadful calamities, in which we lay like dead men and dry bones, Ezekiel 37:1, &c.

To repair the desolations thereof, to wit, of the temple; either,

1. To build the house, where there was only a heap of the ruins of the old temple. Or rather,

2. To frequent and celebrate the worship of God in that place, which hath long lain like a desolate and neglected place. For the building of the house was mentioned in the next foregoing words.

To give us a wall, Heb. a hedge, or a fence; either,

1. The wall built about Jerusalem. But it is probable that was not yet built, as we shall see by the following history. Besides, this fence is intimated to be as much a fence to the rest of Judah as to Jerusalem. Or,

2. The favour and protection of the kings of Persia, whose edicts on their behalf were under God their security against all those enemies wherewith they were encompassed. Or,

3. The powerful and gracious providence of God, which had brought them together, and planted them in their own land, and watched over them from time to time.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

For we were bondmen,.... To the Chaldeans when in Babylon, which was more than the Jews in the times of Christ would own, John 8:33,

yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage; had not left them to continue in it always:

but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia; moved them to have pity and compassion on them, and release them:

to give us a reviving; while in captivity, they were as in their graves, and like the dry bones in Ezekiel's vision, but revived upon the proclamation of Cyrus, and the encouragement he gave them to return to their own land:

to set up the house of our God, and repair the desolations thereof; both to rebuild the temple, and to restore the worship of it:

and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem; not to set up the walls of Jerusalem, and of other cities, which as yet was not done; but rather the walls of their houses, which they had rebuilt; they had walled houses given them in Judah and Jerusalem; though the word signifies an hedge or fence, such as is about gardens and vineyards, and may denote the protection of the kings of Persia, which was a fence to them against the Samaritans and others; and especially the hedge of divine Providence about them, which guarded and defended them, see Job 1:10.

Geneva Study Bible

For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

9. For we were bondmen] R.V. For we are bondmen. Ezra explains his words ‘in our bondage’. The bondage is not past. The Jews are still bondmen, in servitude to the king of Persia.

yet our God, &c.] The hand of God’s mercy could be discerned in the events of past history.

extended mercy] Cf. Ezra 7:28.

to give us … to set up … to repair] God, by the kings of Persia, gave the ‘reviving’; through their favour the Jews had been able ‘to set up’ the Temple and ‘to repair’ its ruins; the royal favour acted as a fence to the Jews against the neighbouring nations.

the desolations] R.V. the ruins. Marg. waste places. Isaiah 44:26 ‘I will raise up the waste places thereof’, Isaiah 61:4 ‘And they shall build the old wastes’. Here where the word is applied to the house and is found in connexion with the ‘repair’ (lit. ‘cause to stand’ or ‘set up’ as in Nehemiah 6:1) ‘ruins’ seems the best English equivalent.

a wall] So also R.V. text. R.V. marg. ‘a fence’. The Hebrew word (‘gâdêr’) is specially used of a fence round a vineyard. It is used by Isaiah ‘I will break down the fence thereof’ (Isaiah 5:5) in the celebrated allegory in which Israel is the vineyard. It occurs also in the Psalm (Psalm 80:12) ‘Why hast thou broken down her fences?’, where the same image of the sacred vine is employed. The use of the word here is perhaps an allusion to these well-known passages. It is not a literal ‘fence’ or ‘wall’, but ‘protection’ and ‘defence’.

in Judah and in Jerusalem] Cf. Ezra 2:1, Ezra 4:6, Ezra 5:1.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 9. - For we were bondsmen. Rather, "we are." The Jews had not recovered their independence. They continued to be the subjects of a despotic monarch, and were therefore 'abddim, "slaves." All the favour shown them by the kings of Persia had not changed this fact. To give us a wall. That is to say, "a shelter." The city wall still lay in ruins (see Nehemiah 1:3; Nehemiah 2:13, etc.). Ezra 9:9

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

"And now for a little moment there has been mercy from the Lord our God, to leave us a rescued remnant, and to give us a nail in His holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage." He calls the short interval between their release from captivity by Cyrus, and the time when he is speaking, רגע כּמעט, a little moment (comp. Isaiah 26:20), in comparison with the long period of suffering from the times of the Assyrians (comp. Nehemiah 9:32) till the reign of Cyrus. פּליטה, a rescued remnant, is the new community delivered from Babylon, and returned to the land of their fathers. In proportion to the numerous population of former days, it was but a remnant that escaped destruction; but a remnant which, according to the predictions of the prophets, was again to grow into a large nation. A foundation for this hope was given by the fact that God had given them "a nail in the place of His sanctuary." The expression is figurative. יתד is a nail or peg struck into the wall, to hang any kind of domestic utensils upon; comp. Isaiah 22:23, etc. Such a nail was the place of God's sanctuary, the temple, to the rescued community. This was to them a firm nail, by which they were borne and upheld; and this nail God had given them as a support to which they might cling, and gain new life and vigour. The infinitive clauses following, להאיר and לתתּנוּ, are dependent upon the preceding infinitives להשׁאיר and ולתת, and state the purpose for which God has given a nail in His house to this remnant. That our God may enlighten our eyes, i.e., may bestow upon us new vitality; comp. Psalm 13:4. Suffering and misfortune make the eyes dim, and their light is quenched in death: the enlightened or beaming eye is an image of vital power; comp. 1 Samuel 14:27, 1 Samuel 14:29. מחיה לתתּנוּ is not to be translated, ut daret nobis vivificationem, the suffix to לתתּנוּ being not dative, but accusative. The literal rendering is: that He may make us a slight reviving. מחיה, the means of supporting life, restoration to life; see on 2 Chronicles 14:13. Ezra adds מעט; for the life to which the community had attained was but feeble, in comparison with a vigorous social life. Their deliverance from Babylon and return to the land of their fathers was, so to speak, a revival from death; compare the embodiment of this figure in Ezekiel's vision, Ezekiel 37:1-14 : they were, however, still in a state of vassalage, and had not yet regained their independence. This thought is further carried out in Ezra 9:9 : "For we are bondmen, yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy to us before the kings of Persia; so that they have given us a reviving to build up the house of our God, and to repair its ruins, and have given us a wall about us in Judah and Jerusalem." They who have returned to Jerusalem and Judah are still bondmen, for they are yet under the Persian yoke; but God has disposed the kings of Persia so to favour them as to give them a reviving, to enable them to rebuild the house of God. Cyrus and Darius had not merely permitted and commanded the building of the temple, but had also furnished them with considerable assistance towards the carrying out of this work; comp. Ezra 1:3, etc. Ezra 6:7-9. The suffix in חרבתיו alludes to אלהים בּית. The words of the last sentence are figurative. גּדר means the wall of a vineyard, the wall or fence built for its protection (Isaiah 5:2, Isaiah 5:5). Hence the wall, or enclosure, is an image of protection from the incursions and attacks of enemies. Such a wall has been given them in Judah and Jerusalem by the kings of Persia. "The meaning is not that they possess a place defended by walls (perhaps, therefore, the temple) in Jerusalem and Judah, but that the Persian kings have given to the new community a safe dwelling-place (or the means of existence), because the power of the Persian empire secures to the returned Israelites continued and undisturbed possession of the city and the land." (Bertheau.)

After this statement concerning the divine favour, Ezra next sets himself to describe the conduct of his countrymen with respect to the mercy extended to them.