Ezra 9:8
in Ezra 9But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from the LORD our God to preserve for us a remnant and to give us a stake in His holy place. Even in our bondage, our God has given us new life and light to our eyes.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And now for a little moment grace hath been showed from Jehovah 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.
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.
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This verse in Ezra 9
Commentary
3 notes on this verseAnd 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 his holy place - Even so much ground as to fix our tent-poles in.
This site's exposition
since the days of our fathers
on Ezra 9:7-9
Ezra traces the trespass back before his own generation, since the days of our fathers, to the exile itself: kings and priests delivered to the sword, to captivity, to a spoil and to confusion of face. Against that verdict he sets the mercy of the moment, verified: for a little space grace has been shown, a remnant left to escape, a nail in his holy place, a little reviving in our bondage, and now a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. Clarke reads the nail as no more than ground enough to fix a tent-pole, and the confession measures grace on exactly that scale, small and named honestly rather than inflated. The wall named here in prayer is the same wall Nehemiah will raise with his own hands within a generation.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
on Ezra 9:8-9
Observe, [1.] The time of mercy: Now for a little space, that is, "It is but a little while since we had our liberty, and it is not likely to continue long." This greatly aggravated their sin, that they were so lately in the furnace and that they knew not how soon they might return to it again; and could they yet be secure? [2.] The fountain of mercy: Grace has been shown us from the Lord.
The words behind it
23 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּ֡ה | veatah | and now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| כִּמְעַט־ | kimat- | like a little of | H4592 → | |
| רֶגַע֩ | rega' | a moment | H7281 → | |
| הָיְתָ֨ה | hayetah | it has come | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| תְחִנָּ֜ה | techinah | favor | H8467 → | |
| מֵאֵ֣ת׀ | meet | from with | H854 → | |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֗ינוּ | ʾeloheinu | God our | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לְהַשְׁאִ֥יר | lehashir | to leave | H7604 → | 133 times |
| לָ֙נוּ֙ | lanu | to us | ||
| פְּלֵיטָ֔ה | peleitah | an escaped remnant | H6413 → | 28 times |
| וְלָתֶת־ | velatet- | and to give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָ֥נוּ | lanu | to us | ||
| יָתֵ֖ד | yated | a tent peg | H3489 → | |
| בִּמְק֣וֹם | bimkom | in [the] place of | H4725 → | 401 times |
| קָדְשׁ֑וֹ | kadesho | holiness his | H6944 → | 469 times |
| לְהָאִ֤יר | lehair | to light up | H215 → | |
| עֵינֵ֙ינוּ֙ | ʾeineinu | eyes our | H5869 → | |
| אֱלֹהֵ֔ינוּ | ʾeloheinu | God our | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וּלְתִתֵּ֛נוּ | uletitenu | and to give to us | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| מִֽחְיָ֥ה | michyah | reviving | H4241 → | |
| מְעַ֖ט | meat | a little | H4592 → | |
| בְּעַבְדֻתֵֽנוּ׃ | beavdutenu | in servitude our | H5659 → |
וְעַתָּ֡הand now
veatahH6258 →433 times
כִּמְעַט־like a little of
kimat-H4592 →
רֶגַע֩a moment
rega'H7281 →
הָיְתָ֨הit has come
hayetahH1961 →3559 times
תְחִנָּ֜הfavor
techinahH8467 →
מֵאֵ֣ת׀from with
meetH854 →
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֗ינוּGod our
ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 times
לְהַשְׁאִ֥ירto leave
lehashirH7604 →133 times
לָ֙נוּ֙to us
lanu
פְּלֵיטָ֔הan escaped remnant
peleitahH6413 →28 times
וְלָתֶת־and to give
velatet-H5414 →2011 times
לָ֥נוּto us
lanu
יָתֵ֖דa tent peg
yatedH3489 →
בִּמְק֣וֹםin [the] place of
bimkomH4725 →401 times
קָדְשׁ֑וֹholiness his
kadeshoH6944 →469 times
לְהָאִ֤ירto light up
lehairH215 →
עֵינֵ֙ינוּ֙eyes our
ʾeineinuH5869 →
אֱלֹהֵ֔ינוּGod our
ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 times
וּלְתִתֵּ֛נוּand to give to us
uletitenuH5414 →2011 times
מִֽחְיָ֥הreviving
michyahH4241 →
מְעַ֖טa little
meatH4592 →
בְּעַבְדֻתֵֽנוּ׃in servitude our
beavdutenuH5659 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Habakkuk 3:2O LORD, I have heard the report of You; I stand in awe, O LORD, of Your deeds. Revive them in these years; make them known in these years. In Your wrath, remember mercy!
it leads to
- Psalms 85:6
Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?
- Psalms 90:13–17
Return, O LORD! How long will it be? Have compassion on Your servants.
- Hosea 6:2–3
After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence.
- Lamentations 3:32
Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion according to His abundant loving devotion.
- Isaiah 51:9–11
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of old. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced through the…
- Psalms 85:6
Through
Hosea 6:2After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 20:5
“Go back and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. I…
- 1 Corinthians 15:4
that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
- Ezekiel 37:11–13
Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’
- 2 Kings 20:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezra
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.