9 for servants we `are', and in our servitude our God hath not forsaken us, and stretcheth out unto us kindness before the kings of Persia, to give to us a quickening to lift up the house of our God, and to cause its wastes to cease, and to give to us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
And remembereth for them His covenant, And is comforted, According to the abundance of His kindness. And He appointeth them for mercies Before all their captors.
And he answereth and speaketh unto me, saying: `This `is' a word of Jehovah unto Zerubbabel, saying: Not by a force, nor by power, But -- by My Spirit, said Jehovah of Hosts. Who `art' thou, O great mountain Before Zerubbabel -- for a plain! And he hath brought forth the top-stone, Cries of Grace, grace -- `are' to it.' And there is a word of Jehovah to me, saying, Hands of Zerubbabel did found this house, And his hands do finish it, And thou hast known that Jehovah of Hosts Hath sent me unto you. For who trampled on the day of small things, They have rejoiced, And seen the tin weight in the hand of Zerubbabel, These seven `are' the eyes of Jehovah, They are going to and fro in all the land.'
Looking for much, and lo, little, And ye brought `it' home, and I blew on it, Wherefore? -- an affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, Because of My house that is waste, And ye are running -- each to his house,
And thou dost know, and dost consider wisely, from the going forth of the word to restore and to build Jerusalem till Messiah the Leader `is' seven weeks, and sixty and two weeks: the broad place hath been built again, and the rampart, even in the distress of the times.
it `is' ours, the land hath been given for an inheritance; therefore say: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because I put them afar off among nations, And because I scattered them through lands, I also am to them for a little sanctuary, In lands whither they have gone in.
And now, pray, let me cause you to know, That which I am doing to my vineyard, To turn aside its hedge, And it hath been for consumption, To break down its wall, And it hath been for a treading-place.
And he fenceth it, and casteth out its stones, And planteth it `with' a choice vine, And buildeth a tower in its midst, And also a wine press hath hewn out in it, And he waiteth for the yielding of grapes, And it yieldeth bad ones!
And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, at the completion of the word of Jehovah from the mouth of Jeremiah, hath Jehovah waked up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he causeth an intimation to pass over into all his kingdom, and also in writing, saying, `Thus said Cyrus king of Persia, All kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, God of the heavens, given to me, and He hath laid a charge on me to build to Him a house in Jerusalem, that `is' in Judah; who `is' among you of all His people? His God is with him, and he doth go up to Jerusalem, that `is' in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah, God of Israel -- He `is' God -- that `is' in Jerusalem. `And every one who is left, of any of the places where he `is' a sojourner, assist him do the men of his place with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, along with a free-will offering for the house of God, that `is' in Jerusalem.'
`Lo, we -- to-day -- `are' servants, and the land that Thou hast given to our fathers, to eat its fruit and its good -- lo, we `are' servants on it, and its increase it is multiplying to the kings whom Thou hast set over us in our sins; and over our bodies they are ruling, and over our cattle, according to their pleasure, and we `are' in great distress.
And this `is' a copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a scribe of the words of the commands of Jehovah, and of His statutes on Israel: `Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a perfect scribe of the law of the God of heaven, and at such a time: By me hath been made a decree that every one who is willing, in my kingdom, of the people of Israel and of its priests and Levites, to go to Jerusalem with thee, doth go; because that from the king and his seven counsellors thou art sent, to inquire concerning Judah and concerning Jerusalem, with the law of God that `is' in thy hand, and to carry silver and gold that the king and his counsellors willingly offered to the God of Israel, whose tabernacle `is' in Jerusalem, and all the silver and gold that thou findest in all the province of Babylon, with the free-will offerings of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly, for the house of their God that `is' in Jerusalem, therefore thou dost speedily buy with this money, bullocks, rams, lambs, and their presents, and their libations, and dost bring them near to the altar of the house of your God that `is' in Jerusalem, and that which to thee and to thy brethren is good to do with the rest of the silver and gold, according to the will of your God ye do.' `And the vessels that are given to thee, for the service of the house of thy God, make perfect before the God of Jerusalem; and the rest of the needful things of the house of thy God, that it falleth to thee to give, thou dost give from the treasure-house of the king. `And by me -- I Artaxerxes the king -- is made a decree to all treasurers who `are' beyond the river, that all that Ezra the priest, scribe of the law of the God of heaven, doth ask of you, be done speedily: Unto silver a hundred talents, and unto wheat a hundred cors, and unto wine a hundred baths, and unto oil a hundred baths, and salt without reckoning; all that `is' by the decree of the God of heaven, let be done diligently for the house of the God of heaven; for why is there wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons? `And to you we are making known, that upon any of the priests and Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, and servants of the house of God, tribute and custom there is no authority to lift up. `And thou, Ezra, according to the wisdom of thy God, that `is' in thy hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may be judges to all the people who are beyond the river, to all knowing the law of thy God, and he who hath not known ye cause to know; and any who doth not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, speedily is judgment done upon him, whether to death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of riches, and to bonds.' Blessed `is' Jehovah, God of our fathers, who hath given such a thing as this in the heart of the king, to beautify the house of Jehovah that `is' in Jerusalem, and unto me hath stretched out kindness before the king and his counsellors, and before all the mighty heads of the king: and I have strengthened myself as the hand of Jehovah my God `is' upon me, and I gather out of Israel heads to go up with me.
And he cometh in to Jerusalem in the fifth month, that `is in' the seventh year of the king,
Ezra himself hath come up from Babylon, and he `is' a scribe ready in the law of Moses, that Jehovah God of Israel gave, and the king giveth to him -- according to the hand of Jehovah his God upon him -- all his request.
and the elders of the Jews are building and prospering through the prophecy of Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah son of Iddo, and they have built and finished by the decree of the God of Israel, and by the decree of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. And this house hath gone out till the third day of the month Adar, that is `in' the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
Then Darius the king made a decree, and they sought in the house of the books of the treasuries placed there in Babylon, and there hath been found at Achmetha, in a palace that `is' in the province of Media, a roll, and a record thus written within it `is': `In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king hath made a decree concerning the house of God in Jerusalem: the house let be builded in the place where they are sacrificing sacrifices, and its foundations strongly laid; its height sixty cubits, its breadth sixty cubits; three rows of rolled stones, and a row of new wood, and the outlay let be given out of the king's house. `And also, the vessels of the house of God, of gold and silver, that Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple that `is' in Jerusalem, and brought to Babylon, let be given back, and go to the temple that `is' in Jerusalem, `each' to its place, and put `them' down in the house of God. `Now, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions, the Apharsachites, who `are' beyond the river, be ye far from hence; let alone the work of this house of God, let the governor of the Jews, and the elders of the Jews, build this house of God on its place. `And by me is made a decree concerning that which ye do with the elders of these Jews to build this house of God, that of the riches of the king, that `are' of the tribute beyond the river, speedily let the outlay be given to these men, that they cease not; and what they are needing -- both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs for burnt-offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil according to the saying of the priests who `are' in Jerusalem -- let be given to them day by day without fail, that they be bringing near sweet savours to the God of heaven, and praying for the life of the king, and of his sons. `And by me is made a decree, that any one who changeth this thing, let wood be pulled down from his house, and being raised up, let him be smitten on it, and his house let be made a dunghill for this. And God, who caused His name to dwell there, doth cast down any king and people that putteth forth his hand to change, to destroy this house of God that `is' in Jerusalem; I Darius have made a decree; speedily let it be done.'
And the king Cyrus hath brought out the vessels of the house of Jehovah that Nebuchadnezzar hath brought out of Jerusalem, and putteth them in the house of his gods; yea, Cyrus king of Persia bringeth them out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbereth them to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. And this `is' their number: dishes of gold thirty, dishes of silver a thousand, knives nine and twenty, basins of gold thirty, basins of silver (seconds) four hundred and ten, other vessels a thousand. All the vessels of gold and of silver `are' five thousand and four hundred; the whole hath Sheshbazzar brought up with the going up of the removal from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on Ezra 9
Commentary on Ezra 9 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO EZRA 9
Ezra being informed, by some of the princes who complained unto him, of the marriages of many of the Israelites with the people of the land, the Canaanites and others, was greatly grieved and distressed, Ezra 9:1, upon which he made a confession of their sins to God, with great shame, sorrow, and contrition, and deprecated the evils which they deserved, Ezra 9:6.
Now when these things were done,.... When the captives with Ezra had refreshed themselves, and weighed the money and vessels they brought, and put them into the hands of proper persons, and offered sacrifices, and delivered the king's commissions to his lieutenants and governors, and shown his own:
the princes came to me; some of the nobles of Israel, the most religious of them, who were concerned at the corruptions that were among them, though not a sufficient number to reform them:
saying the people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the land: but joined with them, though not in idolatrous practices, yet by marrying with them, which might lead them into them:
doing according to their abominations; not serving idols as they did, but imitating them in their marriages: even
of the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites; affinity with many of these was forbidden by an express law, Deuteronomy 7:1 all but the Moabites, Ammonites, and Egyptians, and from these for the same reason they were to abstain; namely, lest they should be drawn into idolatry; that the priests and Levites should do this, who ought to have known the law, and instructed the people better, was very sad and shocking.
For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sorts,.... Some that were widowers not only took wives to themselves of the above nations, either when they were of Babylon, where many of these nations also were, or rather since their return; but they took for their sons also; yea, some that had wives took Heathenish ones to them, see Malachi 2:13,
so that the holy seed; such as the Lord had separated from other nations, chosen them to be an holy people above all others, and devoted them to his service and worship:
have mingled themselves with the people of those lands; before mentioned, by marrying with them:
yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass; they were the first that went into it, were ringleaders of it, who should by their authority and example have restrained others; or they were
in this first trespassF9במעל הזה רשאנה "in praevaricatione ista prima", Pagninus, Montanus. ; which was the first gross and capital one the people fell into after their return from the captivity.
And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle,.... Both inward and outward garments, that which was close to his body, and that which was thrown loose over it; and this he did in token of sorrow and mourning, as if something very dreadful and distressing, see Job 1:20
and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard; did not shave them, and so transgressed not the law in Leviticus 19:27 but plucked off the hair of them, to show his extreme sorrow for what was told him: which has frequently been done by mourners on sorrowful occasions in various nations, see Isaiah 15:2. So in the apocryphal "addition" to Esther,"And laid away her glorious apparel, and put on the garments of anguish and mourning: and instead of precious ointments, she covered her head with ashes and dung, and she humbled her body greatly, and all the places of her joy she filled with her torn hair.' (Esther 14:2)she is said to fill every place of joy with the tearing of her hair; and Lavinia in VirgilF11Aeneid. 12. prope finem. Vid. Ciceron. Tusc. Quaest. l. 3. ; several passages from HomerF12Vid. Iliad. 10. ver. 15. & Iliad. 22. ver. 77, 78, 406. & Iliad. 24. ver. 711. , and other writers, both Greek and Latin, are mentioned by BochartF13Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 45. col. 481. as instances of it:
and sat down astonished; quite amazed at the ingratitude of the people, that after such favours shown them, in returning them from captivity unto their own land, and settling them there, they should give into practices so contrary to the will of God.
There were assembled unto me everyone that trembled at the words of the God of Israel,.... That had a reverence for the word of God, and the things contained in it; feared to break the laws of God, and trembled at his judgments, which they might apprehend would come upon transgressors, see Isaiah 46:2,
because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; into Babylon, and were now returned, and which was an aggravation of their transgression:
and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice: or until the ninth hour, as the Syriac version, which was about our three o'clock in the afternoon, at which time the evening sacrifice was offered; perhaps it was in the morning when Ezra first received his information from the princes.
And at the evening sacrifice I rose up from my heaviness,.... The signs and tokens of it, particularly sitting on the ground; or "from my fasting"F14מתעניתי "jejunio meo", Michaelis; so Jarchi. , having eaten nothing that day, it being early in the morning when he was told the above case:
and having rent my garment and my mantle; which he had done before, and still kept them on him in the same case:
fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God; in the posture and with the gesture of an humble supplicant.
And said, O my God,.... Here begins the prayer of Ezra, and that with faith in God as covenant God, even when he was about to make confession of sin, and repentance for it; that prayer is right which is put up in faith, and that repentance genuine which is accompanied with faith, and flows from it:
I am ashamed, and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God; a true sight and sense of sin causes shame and blushing, and never more than when a man is sensible of his covenant interest in God, and of his grace and favour to him, particularly in the forgiveness of his sin, see Ezekiel 16:61
for our iniquities are increased over our head; arisen and swelled like mighty waters, which seemed to threaten an overwhelming of them:
and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens; being done in an open, public, and insolent manner, and in such numbers, that they were, as it were, piled up in heaps, reaching to heaven, and calling down vengeance from thence. Ezra includes himself as being one of the same nation; and these sins being so common were become national ones, which involved all the individuals, and exposed them to the divine resentment.
Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day,.... The sins they were guilty of had been long continued in, which was an aggravation of them:
and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands; the ten tribes and their king into the hand of the king of Assyria, the kings of Judah, Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah, into the hands of the king of Babylon, with the priests and people:
to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil; some were slain with the sword, others carried captive, and the houses of them all plundered and spoiled:
and to confusion of face, as it is this day; being filled with shame when they reflected on their sins, the cause of those evils; and besides, the captivity of the ten tribes continued, and of many others, which exposed them to shame among their neighbours.
And now, for a little space, grace hath been showed from the Lord our God,.... It was but a small time since the Lord first began to show favour to them, so that they soon after began to revolt from him; which argued the strange propensity of their minds to that which is evil, and from which they could not be restrained by the recent goodness of God unto them:
to leave us a remnant to escape; out of captivity, from whence a small number were graciously and safely returned to their own land:
and to give us a nail in his holy place; a fixed settlement in the land of Judea, the holy land the Lord had chosen, and in the temple, the holy place sacred to his worship; or a prince of their own, Zerubbabel, to be the governor of them, under whom they might enjoy settled happiness and prosperity, see Isaiah 22:23,
that our God may lighten our eyes; refresh our spirits, cheer our souls, and give us light and gladness, see 1 Samuel 14:27
and give us a little reviving in our bondage; for they were still in some degree of bondage, being in subjection, and tributaries to the kings of Persia; but yet being returned to their own land, it was as life from the dead unto them, at least it was giving them a little life, liberty, and joy.
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.
And now, O our God, what shall we say after this?.... What apology or excuse can be made for such ingratitude? what can be said in favour of such a people? what kindness can be expected to be shown to a people who had behaved in so base a manner?
for we have forsaken thy commandments: particularly those which related to marriages with people of other nations.
Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets,.... Moses, and Joshua, and others, see Deuteronomy 7:3
saying, the land, unto which ye go to possess it; meaning the land of Canaan:
is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness; which is to be understood not of their idolatries only, but of their incestuous marriages, and impure copulations, on which account the Lord spewed out the old inhabitants of it; for which reason the Jews ought to have been careful not to have defiled it again by similar practices; see Leviticus 18:1.
Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons,.... That is, in marriage, see Deuteronomy 7:3, where the prohibition is expressed in the same language:
nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever; that is, as long as they continue in their idolatries and impurities, see Deuteronomy 23:6,
that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever; that they might be strengthened and established in the land into which they were brought, and enjoy all the good things it produced, and leave their children in the possession of it, to hold at least until the Messiah came, see Isaiah 1:19.
And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass,.... As famine, sword, pestilence, and captivity, for their idolatries and other heinous sins:
seeing that our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve; for they deserved eternal punishment, whereas it was temporal punishment that was inflicted, and this moderate, and now stopped; the sense is, according to Aben Ezra,"thou hast refrained from writing some of our sins in the book of remembrance, and thou hast let them down below in the earth, according to the sense of thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea;'but Jarchi better,"thou hast refrained thyself from exacting of us all our sins, and hast exacted of us beneath our sins (or less than they deserve), and hast not taken vengeance on us according to all our sins:"
and hast given us such deliverance as this; from captivity, which they now enjoyed.
Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations?.... That are guilty of abominable idolatries, and of all uncleanness:
wouldest thou not be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us; it might be justly expected:
so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? any left or suffered to escape the wrath of but all consumed by it.
O Lord God of Israel, thou art righteous,.... And would appear to be so, should Israel be entirely cut off, and utterly consumed for their iniquities:
for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day; that they remained yet escaped out of captivity, and escaped the wrath and vengeance of God, was not owing to any deserts of theirs, but to the grace and mercy of God, who had not stirred up all his wrath, as their sins deserved:
behold, we are before thee in our trespasses; to do with us as seems good in thy sight; we have nothing to plead on our behalf, but cast ourselves at thy feet, if so be unmerited favour may be shown us:
for we cannot stand before thee because of this; this evil of contracting affinity with the nations; we cannot defend ourselves; we cannot plead ignorance of the divine commands; we have nothing to say for ourselves why judgment should not be passed upon us; we leave ourselves in thine hands, and at thy mercy.