New International Version
Ezra 9:8
8“But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage.
Ezra 9:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“But now we have been given a brief moment of grace, for the Lord our God has allowed a few of us to survive as a remnant. He has given us security in this holy place. Our God has brightened our eyes and granted us some relief from our slavery.
Context of Ezra 9:8
6and prayed: “I am too ashamed and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens. 7From the days of our ancestors until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today. “But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage. 9Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem. 10“But now, our God, what can we say after this? For we have forsaken the commands
Read all of Ezra 9Ezra 9:8 word by word
וְעַתָּ֡ה כִּמְעַט־רֶגַע֩ הָיְתָ֨ה תְחִנָּ֜ה מֵאֵ֣ת׀ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵ֗ינוּ לְהַשְׁאִ֥יר לָ֙נוּ֙ פְּלֵיטָ֔ה וְלָתֶת־לָ֥נוּ יָתֵ֖ד בִּמְק֣וֹם קָדְשׁ֑וֹ לְהָאִ֤יר עֵינֵ֙ינוּ֙ אֱלֹהֵ֔ינוּ וּלְתִתֵּ֛נוּ מִֽחְיָ֥ה מְעַ֖ט בְּעַבְדֻתֵֽנוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And now for a littleמְעַטme‛aţ me‛âţ · littleH4592
- spaceרֶ֫גַעrega‛ · momentH7281
- graceתְּחִנָּהtechinnâh · supplicationH8467
- from the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- our Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- to leaveשָׁאַרshâ'ar · to remainH7604
- us a remnant to escapeפְּלֵיטָהpelêyţâh pelêţâh · survivorH6413
- and to giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- us a nailיָתֵדyâthêd · pegH3489
- in his holyקֹ֫דֶשׁqôdesh · holinessH6944
- placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
- may lightenאוֹר'ôr · to lightH215
- our eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
- revivingמִחְיָהmichyâh · recoveryH4241
- in our bondageעַבְדוּת‛abdûth · slaveryH5659
Cross-references for Ezra 9:8
- Ezra 9:9Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.
- Nehemiah 1:11Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.” I was cupbearer to the king.
- Nehemiah 9:31But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.
- Habakkuk 3:2Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.
- Ezra 9:14Shall we then break your commands again and intermarry with the peoples who commit such detestable practices? Would you not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor?
- 2 Kings 19:4It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.”
- Isaiah 1:9Unless the Lord Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.
- Jeremiah 42:2Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, “Please hear our petition and pray to the Lord your God for this entire remnant. For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few are left.
- Jeremiah 44:14None of the remnant of Judah who have gone to live in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah, to which they long to return and live; none will return except a few fugitives.”
- Ezekiel 6:8“ ‘But I will spare some, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations.
- Ezekiel 14:22Yet there will be some survivors—sons and daughters who will be brought out of it. They will come to you, and when you see their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled regarding the disaster I have brought on Jerusalem—every disaster I have brought on it.
- Zechariah 8:6This is what the Lord Almighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?” declares the Lord Almighty.
- Zechariah 8:12“The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people.
- Romans 9:27Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.
- Romans 11:5So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
- Ecclesiastes 12:11The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd.
Commentaries on Ezra 9:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8And now for a little space - This interval in which they were returning from servitude to their own land. Grace hath been showed - God has disposed the hearts of the Persian kings to publish edicts in our favor. To leave us a remnant to escape - The ten tribes are gone irrecoverably into captivity; a great part even of Judah and Benjamin had continued beyond the Euphrates: so that Ezra might well say, there was but a remnant which had escaped. A nail in…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8The “little space” was above 60 years, counting from the second year of Darius Ezra 4:24, or about 80 years, counting from the first year of Cyrus Ezra 1:1. This does not seem to Ezra much in the “lifetime” of a nation. A remnant to escape - Rather, “a remnant that has escaped.” The “remnant” is the new community that has returned from the captivity. A nail - Compare the marginal note and reference. The metaphor is probably drawn from a tent-pin, which is…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-15Verses 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…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-9God's abundant grace and unfailing love should influence how people respond to him (see Deuteronomy 30:1–5). After all God had done for the remnant, it was shameful they were so quick to betray him. grace in the sight of the kings of Persia: Babylon and Assyria had tortured and exiled their enemies (2 Kings 17; 25), but Persia treated exiled people kindly and returned them to their homelands (see Ezra 1:1–3). a wall of protection: This phrase refers to…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-155-15. 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…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezra 9:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezra 9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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