Ezra 9:7

7. The record of Israelite history, i.e. sin and its retribution. But for their sin, the Israelites would have had a far different history.

Since the days of our fathers] The exact phrase hardly occurs elsewhere except Mal_3:7 ‘From the days of your fathers ye have turned aside from mine ordinances’. The context there seems to show that, though the expression is purposely indefinite, it points back to the time when the Law was first given, and is equivalent to saying ‘from the first beginnings of the Israelite people’.

have we been in a great trespass] R.V. we have been exceedingly guilty. Marg. Heb. in great guiltiness. See note on Ezr_9:6.

we, our kings, and our priests] i.e. the nation, with its civil and sacred chiefs. Cf. the fuller category Neh_9:32 ‘Our kings … our princes … our priests … our prophets … our fathers’.

the kings of the lands] With special reference to ‘the kings of Assyria’ (Neh_9:32) and Babylon.

sword … captivity … spoil (R.V. spoiling) … confusion of face] Life, freedom, property, honour: items of the penalty. ‘Confusion of face’, lit. shame of face, i.e. dishonour. Cf. Dan_9:7-8 ‘Unto us confusion of face, as it is this day’, ‘To us belongeth confusion of face’. 2Ch_32:21 ‘So he returned with shame of face’. ‘Spoiling’: a late Hebrew word, occurring also in Est_9:10; Est_9:15-16; Dan_11:24; Dan_11:33; 2Ch_14:14; 2Ch_25:13; 2Ch_28:14.

as it is this day] cf. Ezr_9:15; Neh_9:10; Deu_6:24; Jer_44:22.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ezr 9:7 Since the days of our fathers [have] we [been] in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have 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.

Ver. 7. Since the days of our fathers] Confession with aggravation is that happy spunge that wipeth out all the blots and blurs of our lives; for, if we confess our sins, and therein lay load enough upon ourselves, as Ezra here, and Daniel doth, Dan 9:5 (mark how full in the mouth these good men are, out of the abundant hatred of sin in their hearts), "God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins," &c., 1Jn 1:9. But in confession we must not extenuate or excuse; every sin must swell as a toad in our eyes, and we must spit it out of our mouths with utmost indignation; showing the Lord the iniquity of our sin, the filthiness of our lewdness, the abomination of our provocations, Rom 7:13. Thus if we weigh our sins in a true balance, and put in so many weights as to bring to a just humiliation, to a godly sorrow; then it will prove a right apology, the same that the apostle maketh a fruit and sign of sound repentance, 2Co 7:11, quae magis deprecatione constat, quam depulsione criminum, such an apology as consisteth rather in deprecating than defending (Chemnit. Exam.).

Have we been in a great trespass unto this day] And so there hath been a concatenation, a continued series of our sins from one generation to another. We are a race of rebels, a seed of serpents, &c.

And for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests] Our national sins have produced national plagues; which yet we have not improved to a public or personal reformation. Many hands have drawn the cable with greatest violence; the leprosy hath overrun the whole body; there is (as physicians say of some diseases) corruptio totius substantiae, a general defection, a conjuncture of all persons, in all sins and miseries, which, like clouds, cluster together, and no clearing up by repentance.

And to confusion of face] So that we are a scorn to our enemies and a terror to ourselves; in a low and lamentable condition.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ezr 9:7-8. Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass — We are not purged from the guilt of our fathers’ sins, but we are still feeling the sad effects of them; yea, and are repeating the same sins. And now for a little space grace hath been showed — It is but a little while since God hath delivered us, and yet we are already returned to our sin and folly. Or, we have enjoyed this favour but a little while, now we are sinning it away, and shortening our own happiness. To leave us a remnant to escape — That by his favour many of us should escape out of captivity; whom he calls but a remnant, because the greatest part of the Israelitish nation was yet in captivity. To give us a nail — Some kind of settlement; whereas before we were tossed and removed from place to place as our masters pleased. It is a metaphor from tents, which are fastened by cords and nails, or pins. In his holy place — In this holy land, as the land of Judah is called, Zec 2:12. Or, in Jerusalem, called the holy city, (Neh 11:1; Neh 11:18; Daniel 10:24,) which is peculiarly mentioned, because of the temple, which was the nail that fastened their tents, and gave them some hopes of continuing in their land. That our God may lighten our eyes — That he might revive and comfort our hearts. For, as darkness is often put for a state of sorrow and affliction, so light is put for joy and comfort. And give us a little reviving in our bondage — For we are not quite delivered, being even here in subjection to our former lords.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9:7 Ezra forthrightly summarizes Israel’s past history. The people and their leaders had sinned and were justly punished. • just as we are today: The effects of Israel’s punishment were still evident in Jerusalem at this time.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Very similar in tone to this are the confessions of Nehemiah Neh 9:29-35 and of Daniel (see the marginal references). The captivity had done its work by deeply convincing of sin the Jewish nation that had previously been so proud and self-righteous.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

At this day. Notwithstanding the favourable decrees of Cyrus, &c., the greatest part of the people continued in captivity, being dispersed, some into Egypt, others into distant countries, beyond the Euphrates. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

We have been in a great trespass unto this day: we are not purged from the guilt and filth of our fathers’ sins, but we are still feeling the sad effects of their sins in the continuing captivity of a great number of our brethren; and we are still repeating the same sins.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. Sword… captivity… spoil — Bitterly true, as the very stones of Jerusalem might testify.

Confusion of face — Having nothing to answer to vindicate themselves, for their own sins had brought them thus low.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Since the days of our fathers. The historical sketches in Nehemiah (Neh_9:6-35) and the Acts (Act_7:2-53) show that this phrase might be taken in a very wide sense, and be regarded as including the "fathers" of the nation who came out of Egypt; but perhaps Ezra has rather in his mind the series of idolatries belonging to the kingly period, and extending from Solomon to Zedekiah. We, our kings, and our priests, have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands. Menahem into the hand of Pul, Pekah of Tiglath-Pileser, Hoshea of Shalmaneser or Sargon, Manasseh of Esarhaddon, Josiah of PharaohNecho, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, of Nebuchadnezzar. That the priests had their full share in the calamities of the captivity appears from 2Ki_25:18; Jer_52:24; Eze_1:1-3. And to confusion of face. i.e. To disgrace and shame. (compare Psa_44:13-15)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Have we been - We are not purged from the guilt of our fathers sins, but we are still feeling the sad effects of them; yea, and are repeating the same sins.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

the days of our ancestors

"the time when our ancestors were alive"

in great guilt ... In our iniquities

The abstract nouns "guilt" and "iniquity" can be translated as an adjective and a verb, respectively. AT: "very guilty ... Because of the evil deeds we did" (See: Abstract Nouns)

we ... were given into the hand of kings

This can be translated in active form. AT: "you gave us ... into the hand of kings" (See: Active or Passive)

were given into the hand of kings of this world

Here "hand" represents power or control. AT: "were given into the control of the kings of this world" or "were given over to the kings of this world" (See: Metonymy)

to the sword, to captivity, and to plunder and ashamed faces

The sword is a metonym for people killing other people. The abstract nouns "captivity" and "plunder" can be stated as verb phrases. And, "faces" is a synecdoche representing the whole person. AT: "to our enemies to kill us, to capture us, to steal from us, and to cause us shame" (See: Metonymy and Abstract Nouns and Synecdoche)

translationWords

king

priest

sword

captive

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

we were delivered Heb. נִתַּנוּ, like נִתַּנְנוּ. The “dagesh” in the “nun” is instead of another “nun,” like (II Chron. 14:10): “for we rely (תִשְּׁעַנוּ) on You,” like נִשְּׁעַנְנוּ. (Gen. 34:16): “... then we will give (וְנָתַנוּ) our daughters,” like וְנָתַנְנוּ.

as of this day as appears this day, for the Ten Tribes have already been exiled, and many of the exiles still remain in Babylon.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.