New Living Translation
Ezra 9:8
8“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.
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.
- New International Version (NIV)“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.
- 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.
Context of Ezra 9:8
6I prayed, “O my God, I am utterly ashamed; I blush to lift up my face to you. For our sins are piled higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached to the heavens. 7From the days of our ancestors until now, we have been steeped in sin. That is why we and our kings and our priests have been at the mercy of the pagan kings of the land. We have been killed, captured, robbed, and disgraced, just as we are today. “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. 9For we were slaves, but in his unfailing love our God did not abandon us in our slavery. Instead, he caused the kings of Persia to treat us favorably. He revived us so we could rebuild the Temple of our God and repair its ruins. He has given us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem. 10“And now, O our God, what can we say after all of this? For once again we have abandoned your 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 9:9For we were slaves, but in his unfailing love our God did not abandon us in our slavery. Instead, he caused the kings of Persia to treat us favorably. He revived us so we could rebuild the Temple of our God and repair its ruins. He has given us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
- Nehemiah 1:11O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer.
- Nehemiah 9:31But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are!
- Habakkuk 3:2I have heard all about you, Lord. I am filled with awe by your amazing works. In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by. And in your anger, remember your mercy.
- Ezra 9:14But even so, we are again breaking your commands and intermarrying with people who do these detestable things. Won’t your anger be enough to destroy us, so that even this little remnant no longer survives?
- 2 Kings 19:4But perhaps the Lord your God has heard the Assyrian chief of staff, sent by the king to defy the living God, and will punish him for his words. Oh, pray for those of us who are left!”
- Isaiah 1:9If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had not spared a few of us, we would have been wiped out like Sodom, destroyed like Gomorrah.
- Jeremiah 42:2Jeremiah the prophet. They said, “Please pray to the Lord your God for us. As you can see, we are only a tiny remnant compared to what we were before.
- Jeremiah 44:14Of that remnant who fled to Egypt, hoping someday to return to Judah, there will be no survivors. Even though they long to return home, only a handful will do so.”
- Ezekiel 6:8“But I will let a few of my people escape destruction, and they will be scattered among the nations of the world.
- Ezekiel 14:22Yet there will be survivors, and they will come here to join you as exiles in Babylon. You will see with your own eyes how wicked they are, and then you will feel better about what I have done to Jerusalem.
- Zechariah 8:6“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: All this may seem impossible to you now, a small remnant of God’s people. But is it impossible for me? says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
- Zechariah 8:12For I am planting seeds of peace and prosperity among you. The grapevines will be heavy with fruit. The earth will produce its crops, and the heavens will release the dew. Once more I will cause the remnant in Judah and Israel to inherit these blessings.
- Romans 9:27And concerning Israel, Isaiah the prophet cried out, “Though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore, only a remnant will be saved.
- Romans 11:5It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them.
- Ecclesiastes 12:11The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.
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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